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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 124 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. track — to keep track
  4. court — for sport
  5. face — part of the head
  6. court — of law
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. band — a music group
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. face — to point toward
  14. game — a match
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. track — a path
  18. band — a ring
  19. court — of a king
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. track — a song
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. game — wild animals

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