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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: pitcher · wave · bat · court · trunk · face · ball · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. court — of law
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. court — of a king
  11. face — to confront
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. court — for sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. ball — a great time
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ball — a dance
  19. face — to point toward
  20. net — after costs
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. net — in sport
  24. bat — for baseball

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