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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: land · court · mine · hand · cabinet · chest · face · scale

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chest — of your body
  3. court — of a king
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. land — to come down
  7. court — of law
  8. scale — in music
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. chest — a box
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mine — for digging
  13. court — for sport
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. chest — of your body
  17. face — part of the head
  18. hand — help
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. scale — size or range
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. hand — in cards

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