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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. present — a gift
  4. face — to confront
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. face — part of the head
  9. scale — size or range
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. present — the time now
  15. court — for sport
  16. pit — in a race
  17. drill — army training
  18. present — there
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pitch — completely
  24. scale — in music

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