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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. face — to confront
  3. swing — music
  4. court — of law
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. swing — in golf
  11. drill — the tool
  12. court — for sport
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cell — in biology
  16. drill — a practice
  17. press — newspapers
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cell — a phone
  20. drill — army training
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. face — to point toward

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