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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: pop · bat · court · wave · fall · game · fork · saw

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pop — to visit
  10. fall — to drop
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pop — soda
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pop — music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fall — the season
  20. game — a match
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. court — of a king
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. bat — for baseball

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