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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. deal — to handle
  3. clip — to cut
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — an amount
  6. game — a match
  7. craft — boats
  8. mark — a trace
  9. degree — temperature
  10. craft — a skill
  11. degree — from a university
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. tear — to rip
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mark — a grade
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — a video
  19. vault — a safe
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. tear — from crying
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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