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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. ground — a position
  4. rule — a law
  5. hand — in cards
  6. face — to point toward
  7. track — to keep track
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. face — part of the head
  10. ground — crushed
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. season — of the year
  13. ground — the earth
  14. hand — help
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. season — in sport
  17. mine — for digging
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. rule — government
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. face — to confront
  23. track — a path
  24. game — wild animals

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