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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: court · patient · pitch · squash · cold · net · cap · rule

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. net — for catching
  3. court — of a king
  4. squash — to crush
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rule — government
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cold — not warm
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. squash — the sport
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — an illness
  21. court — for sport
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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