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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 120 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. saw — the tool
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. face — part of the head
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. march — music
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. swing — in golf
  11. march — the month
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spring — of water
  14. swing — music
  15. face — to confront
  16. swing — to play on
  17. saw — the tool
  18. march — the month

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