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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. season — of the year
  4. club — for dancing
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. last — finally
  8. season — in sport
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. club — for golf
  13. game — a match
  14. last — final
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. mark — a grade
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. club — a group
  20. last — to go on
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mark — a trace
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. fork — in a road

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