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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. ground — crushed
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mine — for digging
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. ground — a position
  14. board — to get on
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. board — a committee
  18. row — a line
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. game — a match
  21. shower — to wash
  22. ground — the earth
  23. game — wild animals
  24. row — a quarrel

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