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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 116 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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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: deal · cap · pitch · club · game · snap · court · clip

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cap — of ice
  4. game — a match
  5. snap — to click
  6. deal — to handle
  7. club — a group
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. clip — a video
  12. club — for golf
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. court — of law
  15. club — for dancing
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cap — a lid
  19. clip — to cut
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. cap — a hat

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