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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. saw — the tool
  6. face — to point toward
  7. game — a match
  8. chest — of your body
  9. march — the month
  10. mate — a partner
  11. march — music
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. foot — a measure
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. chest — of your body
  16. face — part of the head
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. face — to confront
  19. chest — a box
  20. saw — the tool
  21. date — the fruit
  22. mate — to breed
  23. march — the month
  24. mate — a friend

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