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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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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: bulb · face · pitch · march · content · court · rule · club

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. court — of a king
  3. club — for golf
  4. rule — a law
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bulb — for light
  7. club — a group
  8. bulb — for light
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. club — for dancing
  11. court — for sport
  12. march — music
  13. rule — government
  14. march — the month
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. content — happy
  17. march — the month
  18. face — part of the head
  19. court — of law
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. face — to confront
  22. pitch — completely
  23. content — the amount
  24. rule — to rule out

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