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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. court — of a king
  3. wound — an injury
  4. band — a music group
  5. game — wild animals
  6. court — for sport
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a ring
  14. face — to confront
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. court — of law
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. lean — to bend
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. face — part of the head
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. game — a match

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