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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 120 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 · lie · game · net · prune · court · can · rule

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. lie — to recline
  4. net — for catching
  5. can — a tin
  6. court — for sport
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. can — a tin
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rule — government
  12. can — to be able to
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rule — a law
  18. court — of a king
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. court — of law
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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