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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 got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. season — in sport
  4. face — to confront
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wax — to grow
  9. court — for sport
  10. face — to point toward
  11. season — of the year
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. face — part of the head
  19. mark — a trace
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. court — of law
  22. chest — of your body
  23. court — of a king
  24. chest — a box

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