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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. court — for sport
  3. fine — all right
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. face — part of the head
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. court — of a king
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. last — finally
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. fine — high quality
  19. court — of law
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. last — final
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. straw — a straw man

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