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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. chip — to eat
  7. net — after costs
  8. spring — the season
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. game — a match
  11. net — for catching
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. game — wild animals
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. spring — of water
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. fork — in a road
  21. net — in sport
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wake — a trail

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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