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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. ball — a great time
  3. face — to point toward
  4. last — final
  5. rest — a break
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. present — there
  12. face — to confront
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rest — what's left
  15. scale — size or range
  16. last — finally
  17. scale — in music
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — a gift
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. last — to go on

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