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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pop — soda
  5. band — a ring
  6. current — happening now
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. game — wild animals
  12. current — of water
  13. game — a match
  14. rule — government
  15. pop — music
  16. rule — a law
  17. root — of a plant
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — humankind
  20. pop — to visit
  21. band — a music group
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. race — the arms race
  24. current — electric

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