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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. ball — a great time
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. suit — clothes
  5. scale — in music
  6. ball — a dance
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. suit — in cards
  9. tube — the underground
  10. game — a match
  11. suit — to fit
  12. court — of a king
  13. branch — a division
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. court — for sport
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. court — of law
  21. game — wild animals
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. scale — size or range
  24. ball — a round shape

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