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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. game — a match
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bat — the animal
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mine — for digging
  16. face — part of the head
  17. hand — in cards
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. hand — help
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mouse — the animal

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