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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. content — happy
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. game — wild animals
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. key — the most important part
  7. game — a match
  8. face — to confront
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. key — in music
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. key — for a lock
  15. board — to get on
  16. face — to point toward
  17. march — the month
  18. land — to come down
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. face — part of the head
  21. content — the amount
  22. march — music
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. board — a committee

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