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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mark — a grade
  5. hand — in cards
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. last — to go on
  10. face — to confront
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. hand — help
  13. mark — a trace
  14. last — final
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. land — a country
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. face — part of the head
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. face — to point toward
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. last — finally

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