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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: face · kid · pop · rest · foot · court · board · file

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. rest — what's left
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. board — to get on
  6. foot — a measure
  7. file — a tool
  8. board — a committee
  9. rest — what's left
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. kid — child
  12. court — of law
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. pop — soda
  16. file — a line of people
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. file — a document
  19. court — of a king
  20. face — to confront
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. pop — to visit
  23. rest — a break
  24. court — for sport

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