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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. saw — the tool
  3. game — a match
  4. face — to confront
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bass — low music
  9. court — for sport
  10. ball — a dance
  11. court — of law
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bass — the fish
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. face — part of the head
  20. court — of a king
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mark — a trace
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bass — the instrument

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