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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cold — an illness
  3. last — to go on
  4. cue — a hint
  5. last — finally
  6. field — a subject
  7. face — to confront
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cue — a signal
  12. field — farmland
  13. face — part of the head
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. file — a tool
  17. field — for sport
  18. rest — a break
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. cold — not warm
  21. last — final
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — a football final

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