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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. band — a ring
  3. staff — a stick
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. court — of law
  6. saw — the tool
  7. present — there
  8. present — the time now
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. staff — employees
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. court — for sport
  14. present — a gift
  15. court — of a king
  16. squash — to crush
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. game — a match
  21. staff — employees
  22. game — wild animals
  23. band — a music group
  24. kick — in football

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