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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. game — wild animals
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — soda
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. game — a match
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bark — to shout
  20. court — of law
  21. hand — help
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rash — a series

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