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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 a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cue — a signal
  3. ground — a position
  4. cell — in biology
  5. face — to confront
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. object — to protest
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. ground — crushed
  11. branch — a division
  12. court — for sport
  13. object — a thing
  14. cue — a hint
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cue — for pool
  19. object — an aim
  20. net — for catching
  21. court — of law
  22. cell — a phone
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. ground — the earth

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