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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 · racket · deal · last · row · mug · face · game

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. mug — a face
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. game — wild animals
  8. court — of law
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mug — a cup
  11. last — to go on
  12. face — part of the head
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. game — a match
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. mug — to rob
  17. court — of a king
  18. row — to paddle
  19. deal — to handle
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — finally
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. last — final

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