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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 116 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. game — wild animals
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. club — for golf
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. deal — to handle
  8. club — a group
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. face — to point toward
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — a match
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. face — to confront
  17. march — the month
  18. face — part of the head
  19. march — the month
  20. chair — a leader
  21. march — music
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. club — for dancing

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