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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pitch · patient · degree · squash · charge · face · cap

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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 sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. face — to confront
  4. court — for sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. charge — a price
  11. charge — electricity
  12. cap — a hat
  13. face — to point toward
  14. court — of law
  15. charge — in control
  16. squash — to crush
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  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