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

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. last — final
  3. suit — clothes
  4. face — to confront
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. suit — in cards
  14. face — part of the head
  15. suit — to fit
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kid — child
  18. bat — for baseball

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