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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. march — the month
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. march — music
  5. present — the time now
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. last — to go on
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fall — to drop
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — finally
  19. present — a gift
  20. rash — hasty
  21. march — the month
  22. rash — a series
  23. present — there
  24. bat — in an idiom

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