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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. spring — the season
  10. face — to confront
  11. spring — of water
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. face — to point toward
  15. root — the cause
  16. face — part of the head
  17. net — in sport
  18. rash — hasty
  19. net — after costs
  20. chair — a leader
  21. root — of a plant
  22. net — for catching
  23. root — of a word
  24. chair — to sit 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