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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: rock · hand · game · pop · content · court · arm · nail

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. hand — help
  3. court — of a king
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. court — for sport
  6. pop — to visit
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. game — a match
  12. rock — music
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. game — wild animals
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. content — the amount
  18. hand — in cards
  19. content — happy
  20. pop — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. pop — soda
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. court — of law

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