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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. net — for catching
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. game — a match
  9. pop — to visit
  10. court — for sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pop — soda
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. capital — a city
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. net — after costs
  18. snap — to click
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. pop — music
  21. net — in sport
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. nail — on a finger

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