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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 116 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. game — a match
  7. mate — a friend
  8. race — humankind
  9. mate — a partner
  10. rash — hasty
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cap — a hat
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. march — music
  19. plane — a tool
  20. rash — a series
  21. march — the month
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. march — the month
  24. mate — to breed

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