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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. court — of a king
  3. face — part of the head
  4. sharp — clever
  5. court — of law
  6. perch — the fish
  7. staff — a stick
  8. ground — the earth
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. staff — employees
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. face — to confront
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. net — after costs
  18. court — for sport
  19. face — to point toward
  20. net — for catching
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — crushed
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. net — in sport

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