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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wound — an injury
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. game — a match
  9. face — to point toward
  10. cell — in biology
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. tear — to rip
  14. game — wild animals
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cell — a phone
  18. face — to confront
  19. toast — bread
  20. wound — an injury
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. tear — from crying
  23. saw — the tool
  24. face — part of the head

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