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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. cap — a hat
  4. mine — for digging
  5. face — to point toward
  6. stock — shares
  7. snap — to click
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. face — to confront
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cap — a lid
  14. stock — goods
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. court — of a king
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cap — of ice
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. mine — an explosive

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