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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: toast · court · ground · face · spell · rock · kid · sharp

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. court — of law
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. ground — crushed
  7. toast — bread
  8. spell — a short time
  9. face — part of the head
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rock — a stone
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — music
  17. spell — magic
  18. sharp — clever
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. spell — letters
  22. face — to confront
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. face — to point toward

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