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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. game — a match
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. game — wild animals
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rule — government
  10. season — in sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pitch — completely
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. court — for sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. court — of law
  19. prune — to trim
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. rule — a law

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