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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 116 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. last — final
  3. object — an aim
  4. last — finally
  5. net — in sport
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. ground — crushed
  9. object — a thing
  10. ground — a position
  11. object — to protest
  12. face — part of the head
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. ground — the earth
  18. last — to go on

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