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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. game — a match
  5. face — to point toward
  6. last — final
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bore — to tire
  9. season — in sport
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bore — to drill
  13. club — a group
  14. season — of the year
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — part of the head
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. game — wild animals
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. kick — in football

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