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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. face — to confront
  3. pop — soda
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. pop — music
  7. net — after costs
  8. face — to point toward
  9. net — in sport
  10. hand — help
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. last — final
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. squash — to crush
  16. face — part of the head
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. pop — to visit
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mug — to rob
  23. saw — the tool
  24. net — for catching

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