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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. present — there
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. race — a contest
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. club — for dancing
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. present — a gift
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. race — the arms race
  15. spell — magic
  16. race — humankind
  17. present — the time now
  18. face — to point toward
  19. club — a group
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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