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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. court — of a king
  4. race — a contest
  5. face — to confront
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. court — for sport
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. court — of law
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. race — humankind
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. rule — government
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. face — to point toward
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rule — a law
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. race — the arms race

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