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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. face — to point toward
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. game — wild animals
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — part of the head
  13. march — music
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. game — a match
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. march — the month
  24. bark — to shout

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