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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: court · pitcher · snap · present · game · face · nail · stock

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. court — for sport
  6. present — there
  7. court — of law
  8. present — the time now
  9. face — part of the head
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. face — to confront
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. court — of a king
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. face — to point toward
  22. game — a match
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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