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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: court · bear · face · pop · chest · spell · land · foot

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. court — for sport
  3. chest — a box
  4. face — part of the head
  5. land — to come down
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bear — the animal
  9. land — ground
  10. pop — to visit
  11. court — of a king
  12. chest — of your body
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. spell — magic
  15. land — a country
  16. face — to confront
  17. pop — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — of law
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. face — to point toward
  24. spell — letters

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