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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. court — for sport
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — a match
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. chest — of your body
  9. key — for a lock
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. land — a country
  13. game — wild animals
  14. chest — a box
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. court — of law
  17. key — in music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. land — ground
  20. wound — an injury
  21. key — the most important part
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — to come down
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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