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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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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: game · cell · deal · chip · court · pit · wound · prune

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. court — for sport
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. game — wild animals
  6. court — of a king
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. deal — to handle
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. court — of law
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — a hole
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chip — for betting
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wound — an injury
  24. game — a match

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