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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · drill · court · chip · game · swing · land · bowl

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. land — a country
  5. swing — music
  6. land — ground
  7. chip — for betting
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. deal — to handle
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. land — to come down
  14. chip — to eat
  15. court — of a king
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. game — wild animals
  22. swing — in golf
  23. drill — the tool
  24. court — for sport

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