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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — a city
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cell — in biology
  13. game — a match
  14. capital — money
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. club — a group
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cell — a phone

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