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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. stock — goods
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. kick — in football
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. spell — letters
  9. cell — a phone
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cell — in biology
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stock — shares
  19. game — a match
  20. face — to confront
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — a short time
  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