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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. hand — in cards
  4. face — to confront
  5. march — music
  6. game — wild animals
  7. dip — to sink
  8. face — to point toward
  9. mark — a grade
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. face — part of the head
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. date — the fruit
  16. land — a country
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. game — a match
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. mark — a trace
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. mark — to pay attention

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