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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.

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: land · bark · season · cap · scale · face · safe · court

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. land — to come down
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. season — of the year
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. court — of law
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. court — for sport
  11. cap — of ice
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cap — a hat
  14. land — ground
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bark — to shout
  18. scale — size or range
  19. court — of a king
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. face — to confront
  22. scale — in music
  23. face — part of the head
  24. land — a country

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