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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fall — the season
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. scale — size or range
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. scale — in music
  9. march — the month
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. face — part of the head
  12. court — of a king
  13. march — music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. court — of law
  17. dip — to sink
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. march — the month

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