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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. court — of a king
  3. can — a tin
  4. race — a contest
  5. face — part of the head
  6. swing — to play on
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — a stone
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a great time
  16. court — for sport
  17. face — to point toward
  18. rock — music
  19. race — the arms race
  20. hand — in cards
  21. court — of law
  22. race — humankind
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — 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