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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. rock — a stone
  4. land — to come down
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. last — to go on
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. face — to confront
  11. last — final
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bore — to drill
  14. land — a country
  15. cold — not warm
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rock — music
  22. land — ground
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bore — gave birth

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