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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: jam · lie · game · bat · wound · wave · court · pop

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pop — music
  7. court — of a king
  8. pop — soda
  9. bat — the animal
  10. court — of law
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. game — a match
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lie — to recline
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. court — for sport
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. bat — in an idiom

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