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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 rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. face — to confront
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. face — to point toward
  9. content — happy
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. court — for sport
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. field — farmland
  15. ball — a dance
  16. content — the amount
  17. court — of a king
  18. ball — a great time
  19. court — of law
  20. field — a subject
  21. club — a group
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. face — part of the head
  24. field — for sport

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