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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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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: face · land · cell · key · fall · mate · bowl · court

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cell — in biology
  3. land — to come down
  4. fall — to drop
  5. court — of a king
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fall — the season
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. key — the most important part
  10. court — of law
  11. mate — a partner
  12. face — part of the head
  13. land — a country
  14. fall — to drop
  15. court — for sport
  16. face — to confront
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. key — in music
  20. face — to point toward
  21. mate — a friend
  22. key — for a lock
  23. land — ground
  24. mate — to breed

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