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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. pop — to visit
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. court — of a king
  7. board — to get on
  8. shower — rain
  9. game — a match
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pop — music
  13. court — for sport
  14. face — to point toward
  15. court — of law
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. face — part of the head
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. game — wild animals
  20. board — a committee
  21. pop — soda
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. face — to confront
  24. ruler — for measuring

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