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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 116 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. face — to point toward
  3. court — of a king
  4. saw — the tool
  5. scale — in music
  6. court — of law
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. row — a line
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. scale — size or range
  13. face — part of the head
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. pit — a hole
  16. saw — the tool
  17. face — to confront
  18. pit — in a race
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bass — low 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