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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: ruler · stem · rule · bat · season · court · squash · face

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. face — to point toward
  4. court — of law
  5. bat — the animal
  6. season — of the year
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. court — for sport
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rule — a law
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. face — to confront
  17. squash — to crush
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. face — part of the head
  20. season — in sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rule — government
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. stem — of a plant

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