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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. face — part of the head
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. squash — to crush
  6. club — a group
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. snap — to click
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. club — for dancing
  14. face — to point toward
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. saw — the tool
  17. march — the month
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. saw — the tool
  20. dip — to sink
  21. face — to confront
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. deal — to handle
  24. squash — the sport

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