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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. spell — letters
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mate — a friend
  6. club — for dancing
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mate — to breed
  9. race — a contest
  10. game — a match
  11. spell — magic
  12. club — for golf
  13. clip — a video
  14. lie — to recline
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. club — a group
  19. race — humankind
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lie — an untruth

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