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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. snap — to click
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. face — to point toward
  8. branch — a division
  9. march — music
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. vault — a safe
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. face — to confront
  18. fork — in a road
  19. charge — electricity
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — in control
  24. face — part of the head

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