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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. present — there
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. present — a gift
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of law
  9. present — the time now
  10. shower — rain
  11. chest — a box
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chest — of your body
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. shower — to wash
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. court — for sport

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