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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. ball — a dance
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. spring — of water
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — a grade
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. kick — in football
  15. court — of law
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. game — wild animals
  19. spring — the season
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. court — for sport
  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