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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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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: fan · court · bark · spring · stand · face · wake · pitcher

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. court — for sport
  4. face — to confront
  5. wake — a trail
  6. spring — a coil
  7. face — to point toward
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. stand — to bear
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. court — of law
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. court — of a king
  24. stand — on your feet

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