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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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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: pitcher · face · court · craft · fall · cold · pass · pound

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. cold — an illness
  3. court — for sport
  4. face — to point toward
  5. craft — a skill
  6. face — to confront
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. craft — boats
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. court — of a king
  15. fall — the season
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fall — to drop
  18. court — of law
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pass — a permit
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. face — part of the head

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