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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: wound · charge · pitcher · game · swing · ball · cue · land

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cue — a hint
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. swing — to play on
  7. charge — a price
  8. swing — in golf
  9. land — ground
  10. cue — for pool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. charge — electricity
  13. land — to come down
  14. cue — a signal
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. ball — a great time
  17. game — a match
  18. charge — in control
  19. land — a country
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. swing — 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