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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — there
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. face — to confront
  5. wound — an injury
  6. court — of a king
  7. land — a country
  8. court — of law
  9. present — a gift
  10. land — ground
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. court — for sport
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wound — an injury
  17. land — to come down
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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