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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: bowl · rule · ball · court · sharp · game · mine · cell

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. ball — a great time
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rule — a law
  14. cell — in biology
  15. court — of law
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. rule — government
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. court — of a king
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. court — for sport
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bowl — to roll

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