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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: chip · date · coach · game · lean · roll · rest · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. rest — what's left
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. roll — a cake
  8. lean — to bend
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. court — of a king
  14. roll — a list
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rest — what's left
  18. game — a match
  19. lean — thin
  20. date — the fruit
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. rest — a break
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — to eat

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