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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pit — in a race
  3. face — part of the head
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. vault — a safe
  7. field — farmland
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bass — the fish
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. court — of law
  17. bass — low music
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pit — a hole
  20. game — a match
  21. face — to point toward
  22. field — for sport
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. field — a subject

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