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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. rash — a series
  3. game — wild animals
  4. face — to point toward
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. rash — hasty
  8. land — to come down
  9. spell — a short time
  10. club — for golf
  11. spring — a coil
  12. face — part of the head
  13. club — a group
  14. spell — magic
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spring — of water
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. face — to confront
  20. spell — letters
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. game — a match
  24. spring — the season

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