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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: face · fine · present · file · court · spell · shower · cabinet

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. file — a document
  4. spell — magic
  5. fine — high quality
  6. court — of a king
  7. fine — all right
  8. present — there
  9. spell — a short time
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. face — to point toward
  12. present — a gift
  13. face — part of the head
  14. file — a line of people
  15. present — the time now
  16. shower — rain
  17. spell — letters
  18. file — a tool
  19. court — of law
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. court — for sport

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