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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: roll · hand · court · game · arm · rest · cap · chest

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a list
  3. game — wild animals
  4. roll — a cake
  5. court — of a king
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. game — a match
  20. rest — a break
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hand — help
  23. chest — a box
  24. rest — what's left

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