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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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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 · swing · cue · game · deal · bat · bound · face

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cue — for pool
  5. court — of a king
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bound — certain
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. cue — a hint
  11. deal — to handle
  12. game — a match
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cue — a signal
  15. swing — to play on
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. court — for sport
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. court — of law

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