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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: ball · calf · file · court · mine · club · spell · game

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. ball — a dance
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. file — a line of people
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. ball — a great time
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — a match
  15. file — a document
  16. club — a group
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. club — for dancing
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. club — for golf
  21. game — wild animals
  22. spell — a short time
  23. file — a tool
  24. calf — of the leg

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