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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. current — electric
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pass — a permit
  8. current — happening now
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bat — the animal
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cold — an illness
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. branch — a division
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — a safe
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. current — of water
  23. sharp — clever
  24. pass — to spend time

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