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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. spell — a short time
  3. face — part of the head
  4. season — in sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. face — to point toward
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. court — of law
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. court — for sport
  12. face — to confront
  13. shower — rain
  14. track — a path
  15. spell — magic
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. season — of the year
  18. track — a song
  19. spell — letters
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. shower — to wash
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. court — of a king

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