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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. spell — letters
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. court — of a king
  15. spell — magic
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. court — for sport
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. ground — crushed
  20. face — part of the head
  21. court — of law
  22. land — to come down
  23. face — to confront
  24. spell — a short time

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