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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pop — music
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. pop — to visit
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. charge — a price
  10. court — for sport
  11. cue — a hint
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — of a king
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pop — soda
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. game — wild animals
  19. court — of law
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. charge — electricity
  22. game — a match
  23. wind — moving air
  24. charge — in control

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