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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rash — a series
  4. scale — size or range
  5. court — for sport
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. face — to confront
  8. ball — a dance
  9. scale — in music
  10. rash — hasty
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pit — a hole
  14. court — of a king
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. face — to point toward
  20. court — of law
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pit — in a race
  24. ball — a great time

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