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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: face · bear · board · bat · kid · foot · court · game

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bear — the animal
  3. court — of a king
  4. kid — child
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. face — part of the head
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. face — to point toward
  10. court — of law
  11. game — a match
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. board — to get on
  14. court — for sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bear — the animal
  21. face — to confront
  22. foot — a measure
  23. board — a committee
  24. foot — part of the body

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