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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. face — to confront
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rash — a series
  5. scale — in music
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bass — low music
  10. court — of a king
  11. rash — hasty
  12. court — for sport
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rest — a break
  15. kick — in football
  16. face — to point toward
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. rest — what's left
  19. scale — size or range
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. court — of law
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cell — in a prison

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