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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bass — low music
  3. face — to confront
  4. court — of law
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. stand — to bear
  9. court — for sport
  10. kick — in football
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bass — the fish

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