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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: dip · court · fork · game · tear · pop · club · ball

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pop — music
  4. club — for golf
  5. court — for sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pop — to visit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. dip — to sink
  11. club — a group
  12. game — a match
  13. court — of a king
  14. tear — to rip
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. club — for dancing
  17. court — of law
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a dance
  20. game — wild animals
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. fork — in a road
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. game — a kind of play

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