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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. face — to point toward
  6. court — for sport
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. march — music
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. face — part of the head
  16. court — of a king
  17. face — to confront
  18. game — a match
  19. scale — size or range
  20. court — of law
  21. scale — in music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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