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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chip — to eat
  4. ground — the earth
  5. drill — army training
  6. ground — a position
  7. row — a line
  8. spring — a coil
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. court — for sport
  11. chip — for betting
  12. game — wild animals
  13. drill — a practice
  14. ground — crushed
  15. spring — the season
  16. bound — obliged
  17. row — to paddle
  18. game — a match
  19. court — of law
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. drill — the tool
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. spring — of water

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