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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 116 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: ball · press · game · pop · rule · mine · court · key

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. ball — a great time
  5. key — the most important part
  6. game — a match
  7. court — of law
  8. rule — government
  9. court — of a king
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. key — in music
  13. pop — music
  14. mine — for digging
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. pop — soda
  17. press — to push
  18. court — for sport
  19. rule — a law
  20. press — a publisher
  21. key — for a lock
  22. ball — a dance
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pop — to visit

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