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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · bore · dip · lean · object · court · ball · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. court — of a king
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bore — to tire
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. lean — thin
  12. object — to protest
  13. ball — a great time
  14. court — of law
  15. object — an aim
  16. court — for sport
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. face — part of the head
  19. lean — to bend
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bore — to drill
  22. object — a thing
  23. dip — to sink
  24. face — to point toward

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