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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. squash — the sport
  3. club — for golf
  4. squash — to crush
  5. club — a group
  6. hand — help
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. club — for dancing
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — part of the head
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. craft — a skill
  17. last — final
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. craft — boats
  23. face — to point toward
  24. hand — in cards

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