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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. kick — in football
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. firm — steady
  7. game — a match
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. court — of law
  12. face — part of the head
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. firm — a company
  17. court — for sport
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. court — of a king
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bark — to shout

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