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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cell — in biology
  3. face — to confront
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. roll — a list
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. land — ground
  12. roll — a cake
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. perch — the fish
  16. club — a group
  17. land — to come down
  18. face — part of the head
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. club — for golf
  23. land — a country
  24. face — to point toward

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