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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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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: dip · land · tube · game · stand · face · club · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. club — for golf
  3. land — to come down
  4. face — to confront
  5. stand — to bear
  6. club — for dancing
  7. fine — all right
  8. game — wild animals
  9. land — ground
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. game — a match
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to sink
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. face — part of the head
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. club — a group
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. land — a country
  22. face — to point toward
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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