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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. race — humankind
  3. board — to get on
  4. chip — for betting
  5. degree — an amount
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. degree — temperature
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tear — from crying
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. board — a committee
  12. race — a contest
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. degree — from a university
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. chip — to eat
  17. race — the arms race
  18. game — a match
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. tear — from crying
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. patient — a sick person

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