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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. face — to confront
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. clip — to cut
  9. face — to point toward
  10. can — a tin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. can — a tin
  15. wound — an injury
  16. face — part of the head
  17. can — to be able to
  18. clip — a video
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. land — to come down
  24. clip — for paper

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