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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. face — to confront
  4. game — wild animals
  5. club — a group
  6. net — for catching
  7. face — to point toward
  8. club — for golf
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rash — hasty
  12. face — part of the head
  13. net — after costs
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. perch — the fish
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. game — a match
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. rash — a series
  23. net — in sport
  24. perch — for a bird

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