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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bore — to tire
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. spell — magic
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. rash — hasty
  9. season — of the year
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bore — to drill
  12. clip — a video
  13. season — in sport
  14. rash — a series
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rest — what's left
  17. face — to point toward
  18. spell — letters
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rest — a break
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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