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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pitch — completely
  4. mate — to breed
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. mate — a partner
  7. game — a match
  8. file — a tool
  9. court — of a king
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. court — of law
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. file — a document
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chip — to eat
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. court — for sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rest — a break
  21. file — a line of people
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chip — for betting
  24. game — wild animals

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