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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 120 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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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. arm — part of the body
  4. court — for sport
  5. face — to confront
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. lean — thin
  8. court — of law
  9. file — a line of people
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. face — to point toward
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. lean — to bend
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. saw — the tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. arm — a part of something

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