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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rule — government
  4. staff — employees
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ball — a great time
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. face — part of the head
  13. hand — help
  14. staff — employees
  15. game — a match
  16. ball — a dance
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. face — to confront
  19. rule — a law
  20. face — to point toward
  21. game — wild animals
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. ball — a round shape

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