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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: face · snap · court · chair · row · bowl · rule · squash

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. squash — to crush
  3. face — to point toward
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. court — of a king
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. court — of law
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. chair — a leader
  15. snap — to click
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. row — a line
  21. court — for sport
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. rule — a law

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