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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 · pit · wound · chest · firm · club · face · stand

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. face — to confront
  4. club — for dancing
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pit — a hole
  7. wound — an injury
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — steady
  10. chest — of your body
  11. firm — decided
  12. chest — of your body
  13. club — for golf
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. club — a group
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stand — to bear
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. chest — a box
  22. court — of law
  23. face — part of the head
  24. pit — in a race

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