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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. face — to confront
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. last — final
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. last — finally
  7. face — to point toward
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. last — to go on
  11. spring — a coil
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. spring — the season
  14. ball — a great time
  15. saw — the tool
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. face — part of the head
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. fine — high quality
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ball — a dance
  23. spring — of water
  24. track — a path

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