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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. court — of a king
  3. land — a country
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. content — the amount
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. court — for sport
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. ball — a dance
  13. rash — a series
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chair — a leader
  18. ball — a great time
  19. court — of law
  20. rash — hasty
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. content — happy

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