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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. sharp — with an edge
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. court — of law
  5. mine — for digging
  6. court — for sport
  7. face — to confront
  8. file — a document
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. ball — a great time
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — thin
  16. ball — a dance
  17. file — a line of people
  18. face — to point toward
  19. file — a tool
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. ball — a round shape
  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