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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. squash — the sport
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pop — soda
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. capital — a city
  9. ball — a great time
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pit — a hole
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. game — a match
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. foot — a measure
  19. pop — music
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pop — to visit
  23. capital — money
  24. foot — part of the body

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