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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · content · calf · land · pass · drill · perch · face

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. perch — the fish
  3. drill — the tool
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. court — for sport
  6. drill — army training
  7. land — a country
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. court — of a king
  12. pass — a permit
  13. land — ground
  14. face — to confront
  15. court — of law
  16. content — happy
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. land — to come down
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. content — the amount
  24. face — to point toward

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