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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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 — a contest
  3. bound — tied together
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bound — obliged
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. race — the arms race
  8. roll — a list
  9. clip — a video
  10. roll — a cake
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. kick — in football
  18. race — humankind
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bound — certain
  21. clip — to cut
  22. face — to confront
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. plane — a tool

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