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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. net — in sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. march — the month
  6. race — humankind
  7. club — for golf
  8. race — the arms race
  9. march — music
  10. club — for dancing
  11. net — after costs
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. race — a contest
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. court — of law
  21. net — for catching
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. club — a group
  24. march — the month

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