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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cell — in biology
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. court — of a king
  10. rule — a law
  11. court — of law
  12. cell — a phone
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. scale — in music
  15. squash — the sport
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. scale — size or range
  18. rule — government
  19. squash — to crush
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. court — for sport

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