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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 124 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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. last — final
  4. face — to point toward
  5. march — the month
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. face — part of the head
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. face — to confront
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bat — the animal
  16. last — to go on
  17. march — the month
  18. last — finally
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. march — music
  22. dip — to sink
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. bat — for baseball

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