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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: court · jam · face · last · tube · bay · wind · race

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — for sport
  5. last — finally
  6. face — to confront
  7. tube — a container
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. race — a contest
  14. court — of a king
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. race — the arms race
  17. court — of law
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. race — humankind
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tube — the underground
  24. face — to point toward

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