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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. cap — a lid
  4. spring — of water
  5. cap — a hat
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to confront
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fine — all right
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. tear — from crying
  14. face — to point toward
  15. net — in sport
  16. fine — high quality
  17. net — after costs
  18. cap — of ice
  19. spring — the season
  20. court — of law
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. spring — a coil
  23. court — for sport
  24. net — for catching

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