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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: club · chair · swing · ball · saw · ground · wound · face

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. chair — a leader
  5. club — for dancing
  6. ground — a position
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. swing — music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. ground — crushed
  17. face — to confront
  18. swing — to play on
  19. club — for golf
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ground — the earth
  23. swing — in golf
  24. club — a group

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