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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: rule · pitch · game · kid · tube · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. tube — the underground
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. rule — a law
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. kid — child
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. rule — government
  13. game — a match
  14. tube — a container
  15. pitch — completely
  16. kid — to tease
  17. game — wild animals
  18. date — the fruit

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