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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. face — to point toward
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. root — of a plant
  11. game — a match
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. root — of a word
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. drill — army training
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. face — to confront
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pitch — completely
  23. root — the cause
  24. game — wild animals

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