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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. ground — crushed
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — part of the head
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. face — to confront
  7. branch — a division
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. lean — thin
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. lean — to bend
  15. court — of a king
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. last — final
  19. vault — a safe
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. hand — help
  22. court — of law
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. hand — in cards

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