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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. swing — in golf
  4. court — of a king
  5. object — to protest
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cell — in biology
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. land — a country
  12. court — for sport
  13. object — a thing
  14. pitch — completely
  15. land — ground
  16. swing — music
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. court — of law
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to confront
  22. cell — a phone
  23. object — an aim
  24. land — to come down

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