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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.

Make a worksheet

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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. court — of a king
  3. game — wild animals
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. clip — to cut
  8. scale — in music
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. scale — size or range
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. game — a match
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. scale — for weighing

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