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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. season — in sport
  3. key — in music
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. squash — the sport
  10. face — to confront
  11. fork — in a road
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. key — for a lock
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. key — the most important part
  19. game — a match
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. squash — to crush
  23. season — of the year
  24. squash — the vegetable

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