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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: game · rest · fork · swing · roll · bulb · object · face

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — to protest
  3. swing — to play on
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — a match
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. swing — music
  11. roll — a list
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. face — to confront
  14. fork — in a road
  15. object — a thing
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bulb — for light
  18. roll — a cake
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. bulb — for light
  22. game — wild animals
  23. swing — in golf
  24. face — part of the head

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