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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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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: shower · court · face · file · deal · snap · fork · mouse

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. face — to point toward
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. court — for sport
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. shower — to wash
  8. file — a tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. shower — rain
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. snap — to click
  13. court — of a king
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. file — a document
  18. face — part of the head
  19. file — a line of people
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. face — to confront
  22. deal — to handle
  23. court — of law
  24. deal — a big deal

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