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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: cabinet · tube · land · mouse · ball · face · court · bat

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. face — to point toward
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tube — a container
  8. face — part of the head
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. land — ground
  12. bat — the animal
  13. land — to come down
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. face — to confront
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. tube — the underground
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. land — a country
  24. court — of a king

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