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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. sharp — clever
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rash — hasty
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chip — to eat
  10. game — a match
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. object — to protest
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. object — an aim
  16. chip — for betting
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. perch — the fish
  21. clip — for paper
  22. object — a thing
  23. rash — a series
  24. calf — a young animal

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