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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. face — part of the head
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ground — crushed
  5. swing — to play on
  6. roll — a list
  7. face — to confront
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. swing — music
  10. ground — a position
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. kid — child
  15. court — of law
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wind — moving air
  18. roll — a cake
  19. wind — moving air
  20. swing — in golf
  21. ground — the earth
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. court — 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