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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
468
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 · degree · spring · present · tube · court · game · swing

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. court — of a king
  3. game — a match
  4. swing — music
  5. spring — of water
  6. tube — the underground
  7. present — there
  8. degree — from a university
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chip — to eat
  11. court — for sport
  12. degree — an amount
  13. swing — to play on
  14. spring — a coil
  15. present — a gift
  16. spring — the season
  17. degree — temperature
  18. court — of law
  19. present — the time now
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. swing — in golf
  23. tube — a container
  24. game — a kind of play

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