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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: kid · bat · spell · court · calf · face · rush · mark

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. spell — magic
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. court — of law
  7. bat — the animal
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kid — to tease
  11. face — to confront
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. court — for sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rush — hurry
  17. kid — child
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. court — of a king

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