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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. face — to confront
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. face — part of the head
  6. squash — the sport
  7. saw — the tool
  8. face — to point toward
  9. deal — to handle
  10. squash — to crush
  11. net — for catching
  12. present — there
  13. net — after costs
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. present — the time now
  21. kid — child
  22. saw — the tool
  23. present — a gift
  24. pitcher — a jug

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