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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · pit · face · pop · bat · mouse · firm · kid

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. firm — a company
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pop — to visit
  6. face — to confront
  7. game — a match
  8. pop — soda
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. firm — steady
  12. pit — a hole
  13. firm — decided
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pop — music
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pit — in a race
  20. face — part of the head
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. face — to point toward

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