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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 116 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pound — a weight
  4. spring — a coil
  5. present — there
  6. game — wild animals
  7. band — a ring
  8. court — of a king
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. court — for sport
  12. game — a match
  13. band — a music group
  14. root — the cause
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. root — of a word
  17. spring — the season
  18. root — of a plant
  19. present — a gift
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. spring — of water
  24. present — the time now

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