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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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468
Word bank
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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. foot — a measure
  4. court — for sport
  5. face — to confront
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. swing — to play on
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cap — a hat
  13. face — part of the head
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. face — to point toward
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. fork — in a road
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. swing — music

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