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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 116 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 · ground · land · bank · court · squash · bear · wake

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. court — of a king
  3. face — to confront
  4. bear — the animal
  5. court — of law
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bank — of a river
  8. land — to come down
  9. ground — a position
  10. land — a country
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bear — the animal
  14. land — ground
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. court — for sport
  18. bank — for money
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bank — for money
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. face — part of the head

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