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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. chip — to eat
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. court — of a king
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pit — a hole
  10. chip — for betting
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. court — of law
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. swing — music
  17. ball — a great time
  18. mine — for digging
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pit — in a race
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. swing — to play on
  24. court — for sport

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