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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. shower — to wash
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. board — to get on
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to confront
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. face — to point toward
  13. board — a committee
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tube — a container
  23. game — a match
  24. shower — rain

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