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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 120 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: key · game · court · rock · spring · chip · perch · drill

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. court — for sport
  4. rock — music
  5. chip — to eat
  6. spring — a coil
  7. court — of law
  8. spring — the season
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. drill — a practice
  11. key — the most important part
  12. spring — of water
  13. rock — a stone
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. court — of a king
  16. drill — the tool
  17. perch — the fish
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — in music
  20. chip — for betting
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. game — a match
  24. drill — army training

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