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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 · court · wound · hand · key · mouse · trunk · pitch

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hand — help
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. key — for a lock
  5. court — of law
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pitch — completely
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. key — in music
  19. key — the most important part
  20. face — to point toward
  21. court — of a king
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitch — a sports field

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