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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. 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. face — to confront
  2. land — to come down
  3. court — of a king
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. face — part of the head
  6. object — an aim
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. object — to protest
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. face — to point toward
  11. land — ground
  12. court — for sport
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. land — a country
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pitch — completely
  17. object — a thing
  18. 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