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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — a grade
  4. game — a match
  5. craft — a skill
  6. field — farmland
  7. rush — hurry
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. season — of the year
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bass — the fish
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. field — for sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. season — in sport
  20. capital — a city
  21. field — a subject
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. craft — boats

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