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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 will it ________________ you to start?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. face — part of the head
  3. court — for sport
  4. charge — electricity
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — not warm
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — an illness
  10. charge — in control
  11. face — to point toward
  12. charge — a price
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. suit — in cards
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. face — to confront
  18. court — of law
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. suit — clothes
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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