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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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 — the animal
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. press — a publisher
  5. game — a match
  6. content — the amount
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. content — happy
  11. press — to push
  12. wind — moving air
  13. press — newspapers
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. game — wild animals
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. kick — in football
  24. tube — a container

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