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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. face — to confront
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. scale — in music
  10. bear — the animal
  11. game — a match
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bank — for money
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — of a river
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. scale — size or range

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