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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. chest — of your body
  3. face — to confront
  4. shower — to wash
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. shower — rain
  8. chest — a box
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — happy
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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