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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — an aim
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. sharp — clever
  10. object — a thing
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. game — a match
  14. stand — to bear
  15. pitch — completely
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. game — wild animals
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. root — the cause
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. root — of a word

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