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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. court — of a king
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pit — a hole
  8. spring — of water
  9. face — to point toward
  10. court — of law
  11. spring — the season
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. face — to confront
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. court — for sport
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. face — part of the head
  22. game — a match
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pit — in a race

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