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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pitch — completely
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. game — a match
  11. stem — to come from
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. court — of a king
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. fine — high quality
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. capital — a city
  19. fine — all right
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. capital — money
  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