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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 124 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. face — part of the head
  4. staff — employees
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. game — wild animals
  7. present — there
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — in music
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. present — a gift
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. game — a match
  17. rush — hurry
  18. face — to point toward
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. present — the time now
  21. face — to confront
  22. fork — in a road
  23. date — the fruit
  24. rush — a thrill

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