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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. face — part of the head
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. field — farmland
  11. bass — low music
  12. field — a subject
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. face — to confront
  18. court — of a king
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bass — the fish
  21. field — for sport
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. court — of law
  24. face — to point toward

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