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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. deal — to handle
  6. mark — a grade
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. face — to point toward
  11. race — humankind
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. spring — a coil
  14. last — to go on
  15. race — the arms race
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. race — a contest
  18. perch — the fish
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. spring — the season
  21. last — finally
  22. mark — a trace
  23. spring — of water
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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