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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. club — a group
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. game — wild animals
  8. content — the amount
  9. pop — music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. face — to point toward
  12. content — happy
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. game — a match
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. face — part of the head
  17. club — for dancing
  18. cell — in biology
  19. club — for golf
  20. ground — crushed
  21. face — to confront
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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