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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 116 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. court — of a king
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. row — a line
  9. game — wild animals
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. plane — a tool
  13. court — of law
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. game — a match
  19. cold — not warm
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cold — an illness
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rush — a thrill

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