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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. face — part of the head
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. face — to confront
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bound — obliged
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. face — to point toward
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mine — for digging
  18. shower — rain
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — part of the body

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