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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: chest · deal · straw · stick · court · face · temple · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. court — for sport
  3. pop — music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. face — to point toward
  7. chest — a box
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. court — of law
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. face — to confront
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. court — of a king
  23. deal — to handle
  24. pop — soda

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