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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 120 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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. game — a match
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. root — of a word
  8. bark — to shout
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. root — of a plant
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. root — the cause
  13. rush — hurry
  14. game — wild animals
  15. band — a music group
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. perch — the fish
  18. band — a ring
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. pit — a hole
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. pit — in a race

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