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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: sharp · face · cap · drill · dip · court · chip · fork

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. face — to confront
  3. sharp — clever
  4. drill — a practice
  5. face — part of the head
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. court — of law
  8. cap — a hat
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cap — a lid
  12. court — of a king
  13. drill — army training
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. dip — to sink
  16. chip — for betting
  17. fork — in a road
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cap — of ice
  21. face — to point toward
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. chip — to eat

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