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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. game — a match
  3. roll — a cake
  4. rock — music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. kid — child
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. file — a document
  12. kid — to tease
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. face — to confront
  17. game — wild animals
  18. file — a line of people
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rock — a stone
  23. face — part of the head
  24. file — a tool

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