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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. season — of the year
  4. face — part of the head
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. kid — child
  9. stock — shares
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. stock — goods
  15. season — in sport
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. court — of law
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — the animal
  24. kid — to tease

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