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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: scale · present · court · straw · face · net · capital · mouse

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. court — for sport
  4. scale — in music
  5. present — the time now
  6. court — of law
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. face — to confront
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. capital — a city
  11. present — there
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. present — a gift
  14. capital — money
  15. court — of a king
  16. net — for catching
  17. face — to point toward
  18. net — after costs
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. net — in sport
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. face — part of the head
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mouse — the animal

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