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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. chip — for betting
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. club — for dancing
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. land — ground
  9. face — to point toward
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. land — to come down
  12. chip — to eat
  13. net — after costs
  14. club — for golf
  15. face — part of the head
  16. land — a country
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. club — a group

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