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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  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. deal — to handle
  2. court — of law
  3. ball — a dance
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mug — a face
  6. face — to confront
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — for sport
  10. ball — a great time
  11. face — to point toward
  12. fine — all right
  13. mug — to rob
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cell — in biology
  17. clip — for paper
  18. court — of a king
  19. mug — a cup
  20. cell — a phone
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. fine — high quality
  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