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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. hand — in cards
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. spell — a short time
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. game — wild animals
  7. spell — magic
  8. race — the arms race
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spell — letters
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. face — part of the head
  14. chest — of your body
  15. race — a contest
  16. game — a match
  17. race — humankind
  18. hand — help
  19. spring — of water
  20. chest — a box
  21. spring — a coil
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. leaves — of a tree

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