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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. sharp — clever
  3. root — the cause
  4. land — ground
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. game — a match
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wake — a trail
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. lean — thin
  11. land — a country
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. root — of a word
  14. land — to come down
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — to bend
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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