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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. date — the fruit
  3. kick — in football
  4. face — to confront
  5. ground — a position
  6. court — for sport
  7. rock — a stone
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. face — part of the head
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pitch — completely
  13. content — happy
  14. rock — music
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. content — the amount
  18. court — of a king
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. face — to point toward
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. court — of law
  23. ground — the earth
  24. date — on the calendar

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