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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cold — not warm
  3. face — to point toward
  4. stock — shares
  5. face — part of the head
  6. last — finally
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. last — final
  9. bound — obliged
  10. stock — goods
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. court — of law
  13. last — to go on
  14. band — a music group
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. face — to confront
  18. bound — certain
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. court — for sport
  21. band — a ring
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bound — tied together

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