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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mate — a friend
  9. game — a match
  10. roll — a cake
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mug — a face
  13. court — of a king
  14. mug — a cup
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. bound — certain
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. court — for sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. track — a path
  23. track — a song
  24. bound — tied together

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