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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. press — to push
  3. firm — steady
  4. race — humankind
  5. press — a publisher
  6. capital — a city
  7. kid — to tease
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mate — a friend
  13. kid — child
  14. game — a match
  15. press — newspapers
  16. capital — money
  17. snap — to click
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mate — a partner
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. firm — a company
  22. mate — to breed
  23. firm — decided
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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