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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. last — to go on
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. season — in sport
  5. march — music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. chest — a box
  10. last — final
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — finally
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. march — the month
  15. season — of the year
  16. march — the month
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. net — after costs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. net — for catching
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. net — in sport
  24. saw — the tool

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