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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 120 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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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: court · chest · pit · bat · present · pound · temple · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. face — to confront
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pit — in a race
  8. present — a gift
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. court — of a king
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pound — a weight
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. court — for sport
  18. pit — a hole
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. court — of law
  21. present — the time now
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. present — there

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