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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. mine — for digging
  3. face — to confront
  4. bound — certain
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — a hint
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. chip — to eat
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. chip — for betting
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cue — for pool
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. face — part of the head
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. season — in sport
  20. scale — size or range
  21. face — to point toward
  22. scale — in music
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — tied together

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