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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 120 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. face — to confront
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pound — a weight
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. fork — in a road
  8. chest — a box
  9. cue — a hint
  10. court — for sport
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. face — part of the head
  13. file — a document
  14. season — of the year
  15. cue — for pool
  16. court — of a king
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. file — a tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cue — a signal
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. chest — of your body
  24. file — a line of people

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