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

Word bank: board · lie · ground · court · cell · shower · pit · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. court — of law
  4. lie — to recline
  5. court — of a king
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. face — to point toward
  8. court — for sport
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. pit — a hole
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cell — in biology
  14. face — part of the head
  15. ground — a position
  16. shower — rain
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. board — a committee
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cell — a phone
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. board — to get on

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