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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: roll · season · race · face · mine · club · mug · game

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mug — a face
  3. game — a match
  4. club — for golf
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. face — part of the head
  9. mine — for digging
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. season — in sport
  14. roll — a list
  15. mug — to rob
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. roll — a cake
  18. mug — a cup
  19. season — of the year
  20. club — a group
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. game — wild animals
  24. club — for dancing

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