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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 116 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: pitcher · pass · season · file · court · last · face · rule

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. last — finally
  3. file — a tool
  4. season — in sport
  5. face — part of the head
  6. pass — a permit
  7. season — of the year
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a document
  14. rule — a law
  15. court — of a king
  16. face — to confront
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. court — for sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. file — a line of people
  23. face — to point toward
  24. pitcher — a jug

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