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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. march — the month
  3. row — to paddle
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. last — finally
  8. face — to point toward
  9. last — to go on
  10. face — part of the head
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. face — to confront
  14. last — final
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wake — a trail
  21. march — music
  22. rash — a series
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. rash — hasty

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