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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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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: face · pit · bark · spell · fall · foot · court · lean

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. foot — a measure
  3. lean — thin
  4. bark — to shout
  5. face — part of the head
  6. court — of law
  7. fall — the season
  8. spell — magic
  9. fall — to drop
  10. court — for sport
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. face — to confront
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spell — letters
  18. lean — to bend
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pit — in a race
  21. court — of a king
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. face — to point toward
  24. foot — the bottom

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