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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. court — of law
  3. face — to point toward
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pound — a weight
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. face — part of the head
  9. fork — in a road
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. rest — what's left
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. court — for sport
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. court — of a king
  21. deal — to handle
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pound — for dogs

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