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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. last — finally
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. game — a match
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. face — part of the head
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. face — to point toward
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. season — in sport
  12. game — wild animals
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. squash — the sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. squash — to crush
  19. season — of the year
  20. last — final
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. last — to go on
  23. sharp — clever
  24. face — to confront

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