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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. capital — a city
  3. court — of a king
  4. face — to confront
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. capital — money
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. net — in sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. court — for sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. spring — the season
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bore — to drill
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. face — part of the head
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. court — of law
  21. net — after costs
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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