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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: court · pitcher · rule · net · mug · bass · mine · game

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. court — for sport
  5. game — a match
  6. court — of law
  7. net — in sport
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mug — a face
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mug — a cup
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rule — a law
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bass — low music
  16. court — of a king
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. net — after costs
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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