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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · wound · track · ball · land · deal · saw · club

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. wound — an injury
  3. land — to come down
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. face — to confront
  6. land — ground
  7. ball — a great time
  8. deal — to handle
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. club — a group
  14. face — part of the head
  15. ball — a dance
  16. track — to keep track
  17. club — for dancing
  18. track — a path
  19. saw — the tool
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. land — a country
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. club — for golf

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