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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fall — to drop
  3. court — of law
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. march — the month
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to confront
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. fall — to drop
  11. degree — temperature
  12. march — music
  13. court — of a king
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fall — the season
  16. band — a music group
  17. march — the month
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. club — for golf
  20. band — a ring
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — an amount
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — a group

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