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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: game · pop · key · chair · court · bat · toast · rest

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pop — soda
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. court — for sport
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pop — to visit
  11. toast — bread
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. court — of a king
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rest — what's left
  16. key — the most important part
  17. rest — a break
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. rest — what's left
  22. court — of law
  23. key — in music
  24. pop — music

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