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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. face — to point toward
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. branch — a division
  7. hand — help
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pass — a permit
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. face — part of the head
  13. club — a group
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. net — after costs
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. face — to confront
  19. net — for catching
  20. kick — in football
  21. sharp — clever
  22. net — in sport
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. hand — in cards

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