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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: bass · rest · ground · court · sharp · fan · lie · scale

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. ground — a position
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. court — for sport
  7. bass — the fish
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. sharp — clever
  10. lie — to recline
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rest — what's left
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rest — what's left
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. scale — in music
  20. rest — a break
  21. ground — the earth
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bass — low music

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