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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rash — hasty
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. court — of law
  7. mine — for digging
  8. court — for sport
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. drill — a practice
  12. rash — a series
  13. squash — to crush
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. roll — a list
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. squash — the sport
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. roll — a cake
  22. face — to confront
  23. court — of a king
  24. face — to point toward

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