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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. court — of a king
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. deal — to handle
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. ground — the earth
  9. chip — for betting
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chip — to eat
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. game — a match
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. tube — a container
  21. court — of law
  22. ground — a position
  23. court — for sport
  24. deal — an agreement

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