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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: root · court · wake · object · pitch · face · tear · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. court — of a king
  4. game — a match
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. object — a thing
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. court — for sport
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitch — completely
  13. root — the cause
  14. object — an aim
  15. root — of a plant
  16. face — to point toward
  17. court — of law
  18. tear — from crying
  19. face — part of the head
  20. tear — to rip
  21. root — of a word
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. object — to protest
  24. face — to confront

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