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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. present — a gift
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. club — for dancing
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. present — the time now
  10. cell — a phone
  11. court — of law
  12. bass — low music
  13. court — for sport
  14. present — there
  15. bass — the fish
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. cell — in biology
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hand — help
  24. court — of a king

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