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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rock — music
  3. game — a match
  4. rule — a law
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rock — a stone
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bass — low music
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. tear — to rip
  15. snap — to click
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bass — the fish
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rest — a break
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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