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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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. bass — low music
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bass — the fish
  7. game — wild animals
  8. last — to go on
  9. pound — a weight
  10. game — a match
  11. face — part of the head
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. last — final
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. last — finally
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. craft — boats
  22. face — to confront
  23. craft — a skill
  24. season — of the year

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