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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · board · game · stick · temple · rule · racket · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. game — wild animals
  3. rule — government
  4. court — of law
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. court — for sport
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — to get on
  10. rule — a law
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. clip — a video
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. court — of a king
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. game — a match
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. clip — to cut
  24. racket — for tennis

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