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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. court — for sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. face — to point toward
  7. cap — a lid
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cap — of ice
  10. net — in sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. face — to confront
  14. cap — a hat
  15. net — for catching
  16. face — part of the head
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. net — after costs

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