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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. march — music
  3. face — to point toward
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. club — a group
  6. track — to keep track
  7. face — part of the head
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fall — the season
  10. wax — to grow
  11. board — to get on
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. board — a committee
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. track — a path
  17. fall — to drop
  18. game — a match
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. track — a song
  23. face — to confront
  24. club — for golf

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