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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. lean — to bend
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. court — of law
  5. face — to confront
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fine — all right
  9. court — of a king
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. shower — to wash
  12. current — of water
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. lean — thin
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. shower — rain
  17. face — part of the head
  18. fine — high quality
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. current — happening now
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. current — electric
  24. court — for sport

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