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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 · net · staff · date · court · fine · ground · season

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. season — of the year
  3. court — for sport
  4. staff — employees
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. ground — a position
  8. season — in sport
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. staff — a stick
  15. ground — crushed
  16. staff — employees
  17. net — after costs
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. net — in sport
  20. face — to confront
  21. ground — the earth
  22. date — the fruit
  23. net — for catching
  24. face — part of the head

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