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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. court — of law
  5. ball — a great time
  6. court — of a king
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. game — wild animals
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. game — a match
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. content — the amount
  13. court — for sport
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. ball — a dance
  17. pass — a permit
  18. vault — a safe
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — the animal

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