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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 124 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. file — a document
  4. pop — to visit
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitch — completely
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. pop — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. stock — goods
  11. bass — low music
  12. roll — a cake
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. roll — a list
  15. bass — the fish
  16. field — farmland
  17. stock — shares
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pop — soda
  21. game — a match
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. field — for sport
  24. game — wild animals

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