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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. face — to point toward
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spell — letters
  9. game — wild animals
  10. face — to confront
  11. last — to go on
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bulb — for light
  15. kick — in football
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. game — a match
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. face — part of the head

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