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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. scale — in music
  3. kid — child
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — electric
  9. court — of a king
  10. kid — to tease
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. court — of law
  13. last — to go on
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. face — to confront
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. current — of water
  19. scale — size or range
  20. face — part of the head
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. last — final
  23. pound — a weight
  24. last — finally

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