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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. game — a match
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tube — a container
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. swing — music
  12. tube — the underground
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. swing — in golf
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. swing — to play on
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. march — music
  24. plane — a tool

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