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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. face — to point toward
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. scale — size or range
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. staff — a stick
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wound — an injury
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. field — a subject
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. field — farmland
  18. scale — in music
  19. face — part of the head
  20. game — wild animals
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. face — to confront
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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