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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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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: ball · fall · face · rest · court · content · ground · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. face — to point toward
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. ground — a position
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. face — to confront
  16. fall — to drop
  17. court — of law
  18. face — part of the head
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ball — a great time

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