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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. suit — to fit
  3. fall — to drop
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pop — to visit
  6. fall — the season
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. face — part of the head
  12. land — to come down
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. face — to confront
  15. pop — music
  16. suit — in cards
  17. court — of law
  18. suit — clothes
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. court — of a king
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pop — soda
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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