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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: club · hand · pop · rock · last · game · pit · chair

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rock — music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pop — soda
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. game — a match
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rock — a stone
  15. pop — music
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pop — to visit
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. last — final
  22. pit — in a race
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. club — a group

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