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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. squash — the sport
  4. spell — magic
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. spell — letters
  7. mark — a trace
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. hand — in cards
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. face — to confront
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. squash — to crush
  15. mark — a grade
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. spell — a short time
  19. face — to point toward
  20. hand — help
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. face — part of the head

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