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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. track — a song
  3. swing — in golf
  4. spring — of water
  5. swing — to play on
  6. game — wild animals
  7. season — in sport
  8. cell — in biology
  9. spring — a coil
  10. track — to keep track
  11. date — the fruit
  12. roll — a list
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. game — a match
  16. roll — a cake
  17. spring — the season
  18. season — of the year
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. track — a path
  21. swing — music
  22. cell — a phone
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. date — on the calendar

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