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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. branch — a division
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. mate — a friend
  10. rash — a series
  11. track — a path
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mate — to breed
  18. track — to keep track
  19. fork — in a road
  20. mate — a partner
  21. track — a song
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. game — a match
  24. rash — hasty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com