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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 120 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. last — final
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. last — to go on
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rule — government
  15. fork — in a road
  16. face — part of the head
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. last — finally
  21. face — to confront
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. rule — a law

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