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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. court — of a king
  4. firm — decided
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. scale — size or range
  7. shower — rain
  8. court — for sport
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bass — low music
  11. scale — in music
  12. court — of law
  13. game — a match
  14. firm — a company
  15. game — wild animals
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. firm — steady
  19. bass — the fish
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. nail — on a finger

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