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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: club · court · hide · rest · face · tube · perch · pound

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. rest — what's left
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. court — for sport
  11. pound — a weight
  12. rest — a break
  13. perch — the fish
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. tube — the underground
  16. club — for dancing
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. court — of a king
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. club — a group
  22. face — to confront
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — a container

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