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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. court — for sport
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. lean — thin
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. face — to point toward
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. capital — a city
  12. wake — a trail
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. court — of a king
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. scale — size or range
  18. capital — money
  19. face — part of the head
  20. scale — in music
  21. face — to confront
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. court — of law
  24. lean — to rest against

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