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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. court — of a king
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. face — part of the head
  6. court — of law
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mine — for digging
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. court — for sport
  14. capital — a city
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. roll — a cake
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. face — to confront
  24. roll — a list

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