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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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 — in cards
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. march — the month
  6. game — wild animals
  7. capital — a city
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bore — to tire
  10. hand — help
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — of water
  13. game — a match
  14. bore — to drill
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. march — music
  17. root — of a plant
  18. march — the month
  19. root — of a word
  20. capital — money
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. root — the cause
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. current — electric

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