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

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. court — of a king
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. spell — a short time
  7. fall — to drop
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. spell — magic
  11. fall — to drop
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. fall — the season
  15. face — to point toward
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. scale — size or range
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. face — to confront
  20. scale — in music
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. spell — letters
  23. face — part of the head
  24. vault — a safe

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