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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. march — music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. last — finally
  6. face — to point toward
  7. court — of law
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. fine — high quality
  10. kick — in football
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fine — all right
  13. court — for sport
  14. march — the month
  15. last — to go on
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. court — of a king
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bat — the animal
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. face — to confront
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. march — the month

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