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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. object — an aim
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. club — for dancing
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cell — in biology
  7. march — the month
  8. season — of the year
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. club — a group
  13. wind — moving air
  14. face — part of the head
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. object — a thing
  17. march — music
  18. club — for golf
  19. season — in sport
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. march — the month
  22. face — to confront
  23. cell — a phone
  24. object — to protest

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