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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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Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rash — hasty
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. ball — a great time
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. court — of a king
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. rash — a series
  10. bear — the animal
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. court — of law
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bear — the animal
  17. game — a match
  18. kick — in football
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. court — for sport
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. ball — a dance

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