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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. march — music
  3. file — a tool
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. march — the month
  9. rock — a stone
  10. track — a song
  11. file — a line of people
  12. march — the month
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. rock — music
  16. court — for sport
  17. track — to keep track
  18. court — of law
  19. file — a document
  20. game — a match
  21. court — of a king
  22. kick — in football
  23. track — a path
  24. game — wild animals

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