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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. row — to paddle
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. last — final
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. capital — money
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. net — after costs
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. game — wild animals
  14. last — to go on
  15. capital — a city
  16. net — in sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. row — a line
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. game — a match
  22. net — for catching
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. last — finally

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