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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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. drill — army training
  4. game — wild animals
  5. face — to confront
  6. game — a match
  7. face — to point toward
  8. tear — to rip
  9. face — part of the head
  10. staff — employees
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. degree — temperature
  15. drill — a practice
  16. staff — employees
  17. drill — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. degree — an amount
  21. tear — from crying
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. staff — a stick

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