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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: face · straw · court · present · fork · swing · pitcher · bore

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bore — to tire
  5. court — of law
  6. fork — in a road
  7. face — to confront
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. present — a gift
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. court — of a king
  13. face — to point toward
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — music
  16. face — part of the head
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. present — there
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. present — the time now
  22. court — for sport
  23. bore — to drill
  24. swing — to play on

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