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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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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: court · fall · firm · pass · scale · kid · face · date

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. court — for sport
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. face — part of the head
  8. fall — the season
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. court — of law
  11. scale — size or range
  12. court — of a king
  13. firm — decided
  14. face — to point toward
  15. fall — to drop
  16. scale — in music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. kid — child
  20. date — the fruit
  21. face — to confront
  22. pass — a permit
  23. firm — a company
  24. fall — to drop

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