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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 120 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. court — for sport
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bass — low music
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. court — of law
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. face — to confront
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. face — part of the head

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