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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: face · rock · shower · swing · date · court · present · squash

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — part of the head
  3. present — a gift
  4. squash — to crush
  5. face — to confront
  6. court — for sport
  7. swing — to play on
  8. court — of law
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. date — the fruit
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. squash — the sport
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. rock — music
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — there
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. court — of a king
  24. rock — a stone

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