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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. court — of a king
  6. stock — shares
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. court — for sport
  9. game — a match
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. game — wild animals
  12. band — a ring
  13. face — to point toward
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. face — part of the head
  16. pitch — completely
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. face — to confront
  21. court — of law
  22. stock — goods
  23. band — a music group
  24. stock — a soup base

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