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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. game — a match
  3. face — part of the head
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. scale — in music
  6. clip — a video
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. staff — employees
  11. land — to come down
  12. scale — size or range
  13. face — to confront
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fork — in a road
  16. staff — employees
  17. land — a country
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. clip — to cut
  21. face — to point toward
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. land — ground

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