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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: file · march · court · bat · face · last · spell · rest

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. march — music
  3. file — a tool
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. face — part of the head
  7. spell — letters
  8. march — the month
  9. court — of law
  10. rest — what's left
  11. spell — magic
  12. file — a line of people
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. file — a document
  16. march — the month
  17. last — final
  18. court — for sport
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bat — the animal
  22. face — to confront
  23. rest — a break
  24. bat — for baseball

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