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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. face — to confront
  3. drill — a practice
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — to rob
  7. march — music
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. ground — the earth
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. march — the month
  13. game — wild animals
  14. drill — army training
  15. tube — the underground
  16. season — in sport
  17. drill — the tool
  18. season — of the year
  19. face — part of the head
  20. tube — a container
  21. ground — crushed
  22. march — the month
  23. ground — a position
  24. face — to point toward

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