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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. last — finally
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. last — final
  9. firm — a company
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. drill — army training
  16. face — to point toward
  17. rush — hurry
  18. face — to confront
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. last — to go on
  22. firm — steady
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. drill — a practice

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