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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. vault — a safe
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. court — of a king
  11. game — a match
  12. fall — to drop
  13. snap — to click
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. fall — the season
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fall — to drop
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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