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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. saw — the tool
  5. face — to point toward
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — the tool
  8. date — the fruit
  9. face — part of the head
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hand — in cards
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. drill — army training
  15. hand — help
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. face — to confront
  23. drill — a practice
  24. chest — of your body

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