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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. game — a match
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. kid — to tease
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. face — to confront
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. stock — goods
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mate — a friend
  13. shower — rain
  14. mate — a partner
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. stock — shares
  18. mate — to breed
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. game — wild animals
  23. face — part of the head
  24. game — a kind of play

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