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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: game · spell · rule · net · chip · court · chair · rash

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. spell — a short time
  3. chair — a leader
  4. court — of law
  5. net — after costs
  6. chip — for betting
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. rash — hasty
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chip — to eat
  13. court — for sport
  14. rule — a law
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. net — in sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — letters
  22. rash — a series
  23. rule — government
  24. net — for catching

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