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

Word bank: mate · cabinet · court · track · straw · chip · game · wind

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. court — of law
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. game — a match
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mate — to breed
  10. court — of a king
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chip — to eat
  15. court — for sport
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. track — to keep track

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