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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. court — of law
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chest — of your body
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. chest — a box
  9. game — a match
  10. court — of a king
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. snap — to click
  13. date — the fruit
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. mine — for digging
  16. saw — the tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. court — for sport
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. chest — of your body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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