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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: mine · fork · court · face · chip · press · shower · last

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. press — newspapers
  6. last — to go on
  7. chip — to eat
  8. press — to push
  9. last — final
  10. face — to point toward
  11. last — finally
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. shower — rain
  14. fork — in a road
  15. court — of law
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. face — part of the head
  18. press — a publisher
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. chip — for betting
  21. face — to confront
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. court — of a king
  24. fork — a garden tool

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