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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bound — certain
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. bound — tied together
  10. net — after costs
  11. pop — soda
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pop — music
  14. net — for catching
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. net — in sport
  18. club — a group
  19. bound — obliged
  20. court — of law
  21. game — a match
  22. pop — to visit
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. game — a kind of play

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