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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. game — wild animals
  3. kid — child
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wound — an injury
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. face — to point toward
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. face — part of the head
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. band — a music group
  21. game — a match
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. face — to confront

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