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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. court — of law
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bear — the animal
  6. face — part of the head
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. toast — bread
  10. craft — a skill
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. field — farmland
  15. bear — the animal
  16. file — a tool
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — boats
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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