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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. hand — help
  4. season — in sport
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. season — of the year
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. squash — the sport
  23. game — a match
  24. bark — to shout

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