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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: wind · staff · court · cap · racket · bat · pitcher · face

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to confront
  4. staff — a stick
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. court — of a king
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. staff — employees
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wind — moving air
  20. court — of law
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. staff — employees

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