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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bulb — for light
  10. game — a match
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bulb — for light
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cap — a lid
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cap — a hat
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cap — of ice
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. mine — belonging to me

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