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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. spring — of water
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cue — for pool
  9. hand — help
  10. spring — the season
  11. kick — in football
  12. perch — the fish
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cue — a signal
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. game — a match
  18. lean — thin
  19. hand — in cards
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. fork — in a road
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cue — a hint

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