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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 116 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: game · hand · mark · face · trunk · court · leaves · mine

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. game — a match
  3. court — of a king
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. court — of law
  8. mine — for digging
  9. game — wild animals
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. face — to confront
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. court — for sport
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mark — a grade

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