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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. spell — magic
  3. game — a match
  4. drill — army training
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. face — to point toward
  12. scale — in music
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rule — government
  15. scale — size or range
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rule — a law
  23. spell — letters
  24. scale — for weighing

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