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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. face — to confront
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. capital — money
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. staff — employees
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mark — a trace
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. game — a match
  14. staff — employees
  15. clip — to cut
  16. perch — the fish
  17. mark — a grade
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fork — in a road
  20. clip — a video
  21. capital — a city
  22. clip — for paper
  23. staff — a stick
  24. perch — for a bird

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