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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · tear · court · club · current · rest · face · scale

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. scale — in music
  3. face — part of the head
  4. club — for dancing
  5. rest — a break
  6. tear — to rip
  7. current — of water
  8. rest — what's left
  9. hand — help
  10. club — a group
  11. scale — size or range
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. face — to confront
  15. current — happening now
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tear — from crying
  18. court — of a king
  19. club — for golf
  20. face — to point toward
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — of law
  23. rest — what's left
  24. current — electric

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