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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 116 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. face — to point toward
  3. club — for golf
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. club — for dancing
  6. game — wild animals
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. shower — to wash
  10. suit — to fit
  11. suit — in cards
  12. squash — the sport
  13. face — part of the head
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rash — hasty
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spring — of water
  19. suit — clothes
  20. face — to confront
  21. rash — a series
  22. game — a match
  23. club — a group
  24. squash — the vegetable

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