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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 116 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. last — final
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. face — part of the head
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. face — to point toward
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. last — finally
  10. face — to confront
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. march — the month
  13. file — a tool
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. object — to protest
  20. last — to go on
  21. object — a thing
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chair — a leader
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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