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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. court — for sport
  4. cold — not warm
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pop — to visit
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. face — to point toward
  9. pit — a hole
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. object — an aim
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. object — to protest
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. cold — an illness
  17. object — a thing
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. court — of a king
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. pop — soda
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pop — music

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