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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. game — wild animals
  3. present — there
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. face — to confront
  6. mine — for digging
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. face — to point toward
  11. present — a gift
  12. net — for catching
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. net — in sport
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. hand — in cards
  18. deal — to handle
  19. face — part of the head
  20. hand — help
  21. present — the time now
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. net — after costs
  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