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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. land — a country
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. club — a group
  8. face — to point toward
  9. land — ground
  10. row — to paddle
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. game — wild animals
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wax — to grow
  15. club — for dancing
  16. row — a line
  17. face — to confront
  18. land — to come down
  19. game — a match
  20. chest — a box
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. club — for golf
  24. chest — of your body

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