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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. last — finally
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to confront
  8. cell — a phone
  9. land — a country
  10. drill — a practice
  11. capital — money
  12. suit — in cards
  13. suit — clothes
  14. suit — to fit
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. land — ground
  17. cell — in biology
  18. land — to come down
  19. capital — a city
  20. face — to point toward
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. drill — the tool
  24. last — final

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