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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 · pop · face · firm · racket · fan · fall · game

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fall — the season
  4. court — of a king
  5. game — wild animals
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. firm — a company
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. game — a match
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pop — music
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pop — soda
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. face — to confront
  22. firm — steady
  23. firm — decided
  24. fan — to cool the air

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