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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mate — a partner
  3. face — part of the head
  4. last — finally
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. face — to confront
  8. board — a committee
  9. game — a match
  10. content — the amount
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mug — to rob
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. face — to point toward
  15. last — to go on
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. spring — the season
  18. last — final
  19. mug — a face
  20. spring — a coil
  21. content — happy
  22. spring — of water
  23. board — to get on
  24. mug — a cup

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