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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 120 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. root — of a word
  6. row — to paddle
  7. game — wild animals
  8. charge — in control
  9. game — a match
  10. chest — of your body
  11. hand — help
  12. row — a line
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. root — the cause
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. charge — a price
  19. chest — a box
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. hand — in cards
  22. root — of a plant
  23. charge — electricity
  24. wound — an injury

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