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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: pop · court · face · dip · straw · ruler · field · bear

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. dip — to sink
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. field — for sport
  5. face — part of the head
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. court — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. pop — soda
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. court — of law
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. field — farmland
  17. pop — to visit
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. face — to confront
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pop — music
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. straw — dry grass

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