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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: bound · mug · wound · saw · court · present · face · chest

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. present — a gift
  4. bound — certain
  5. mug — to rob
  6. present — the time now
  7. face — to confront
  8. bound — tied together
  9. saw — the tool
  10. present — there
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. face — part of the head
  13. court — of law
  14. mug — a face
  15. saw — the tool
  16. face — to point toward
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mug — a cup
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chest — a box

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