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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pitch — completely
  4. fork — in a road
  5. tear — from crying
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wind — moving air
  9. degree — an amount
  10. tear — to rip
  11. band — a ring
  12. degree — temperature
  13. band — a music group
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — moving air
  16. game — a match
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. wind — to turn a key

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