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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. game — a match
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. court — for sport
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. chip — to eat
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. court — of law
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. fork — in a road
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. chip — for betting
  24. perch — the fish

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