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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. ground — crushed
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ground — a position
  6. file — a tool
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. file — a document
  9. chest — a box
  10. ground — the earth
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bass — low music
  20. face — part of the head
  21. file — a line of people
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. bass — the fish
  24. game — a match

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