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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 · foot · cold · face · lash · pop · kid · pass

  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 water is too ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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. cold — not warm
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. face — to confront
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pop — to visit
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. pop — soda
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cold — an illness
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pop — music
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. court — for sport
  22. foot — a measure
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. pass — to succeed

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