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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. squash — to crush
  3. game — a match
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. current — of water
  6. key — in music
  7. key — for a lock
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bound — tied together
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. court — of law
  13. cold — not warm
  14. court — for sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. current — happening now
  20. court — of a king
  21. bound — certain
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pound — a weight
  24. current — electric

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