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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · court · pitcher · game · bank · kid · net · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. face — to point toward
  3. kid — to tease
  4. game — a match
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. court — for sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. rule — a law
  9. court — of law
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. game — wild animals
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — of a river
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bank — for money
  19. face — to confront
  20. court — of a king
  21. net — in sport
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kid — child
  24. net — for catching

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