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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: kick · face · craft · march · last · court · band · bay

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. craft — boats
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. march — music
  6. band — a music group
  7. kick — in football
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. face — to confront
  10. march — the month
  11. last — finally
  12. face — part of the head
  13. court — of law
  14. craft — a skill
  15. court — for sport
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. face — to point toward
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. court — of a king
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. band — a ring
  22. march — the month
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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