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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. object — an aim
  4. field — a subject
  5. face — to point toward
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. club — for dancing
  8. field — for sport
  9. club — for golf
  10. charge — electricity
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. charge — a price
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. charge — in control
  16. object — to protest
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hand — help
  19. row — to paddle
  20. face — part of the head
  21. field — farmland
  22. object — a thing
  23. face — to confront
  24. row — a line

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