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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 120 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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468
Word bank
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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. court — of a king
  6. kid — child
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. fall — to drop
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. kid — to tease
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fall — the season
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cold — not warm
  23. perch — the fish
  24. fall — to drop

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