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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. court — of a king
  3. clip — for paper
  4. face — to confront
  5. shower — to wash
  6. court — for sport
  7. firm — steady
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. court — of law
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — high quality
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. shower — rain
  16. march — music
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. fine — all right
  20. face — to point toward
  21. clip — to cut
  22. firm — a company
  23. face — part of the head
  24. calf — a young animal

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