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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 120 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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. swing — to play on
  3. drill — army training
  4. squash — to crush
  5. band — a ring
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. court — of law
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. drill — the tool
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. swing — music
  14. chip — to eat
  15. drill — a practice
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. game — wild animals
  18. swing — in golf
  19. court — for sport
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. chip — for betting
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a music group
  24. court — of a king

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