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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. craft — boats
  3. face — to confront
  4. spring — a coil
  5. court — of law
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spring — the season
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. shower — to wash
  10. court — of a king
  11. face — part of the head
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. court — for sport
  14. spring — of water
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. craft — a skill
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. shower — rain

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