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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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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: ball · dip · pitch · game · fan · face · court · root

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. face — part of the head
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. ball — a great time
  9. face — to point toward
  10. root — the cause
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. face — to confront
  14. ball — a dance
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pitch — completely
  17. court — for sport
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. court — of law
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. game — a match
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. court — of a king
  24. pitch — a sports field

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