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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — size or range
  5. court — for sport
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cap — of ice
  10. vault — a safe
  11. court — of a king
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bat — the animal
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. court — of law
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. scale — in music

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