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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. game — wild animals
  3. drill — army training
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. spring — the season
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. drill — the tool
  8. face — part of the head
  9. craft — a skill
  10. face — to point toward
  11. spring — a coil
  12. kick — in football
  13. drill — a practice
  14. craft — boats
  15. spring — of water
  16. game — a match
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. face — to confront

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