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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. face — to confront
  5. kid — child
  6. spell — letters
  7. face — to point toward
  8. squash — the sport
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kid — to tease
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. game — a match
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — magic
  16. key — in music
  17. squash — to crush
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. spell — a short time
  20. key — the most important part
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. key — for a lock
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wound — an injury

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