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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. game — a match
  3. court — of a king
  4. swing — in golf
  5. court — of law
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. season — in sport
  8. court — for sport
  9. ground — the earth
  10. net — for catching
  11. game — wild animals
  12. swing — music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. swing — to play on
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — to breed
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. ground — a position
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. net — after costs
  22. season — of the year
  23. mate — a friend
  24. net — in sport

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