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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. court — of a king
  3. bark — to shout
  4. face — to point toward
  5. game — a match
  6. court — for sport
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. last — to go on
  10. face — part of the head
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. club — for golf
  13. last — finally
  14. game — wild animals
  15. drill — the tool
  16. face — to confront
  17. court — of law
  18. chip — for betting
  19. club — a group
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chip — to eat
  22. last — final
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. drill — army training

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