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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 120 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: ball · lean · firm · stock · court · face · kid · current

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ball — a great time
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. face — part of the head
  6. court — for sport
  7. lean — to bend
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. kid — child
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. current — of water
  12. lean — thin
  13. court — of law
  14. current — electric
  15. current — happening now
  16. firm — decided
  17. court — of a king
  18. stock — shares
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. face — to confront
  21. stock — goods
  22. firm — a company
  23. ball — a dance
  24. firm — steady

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