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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. face — to confront
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rule — government
  8. file — a line of people
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fall — the season
  11. rule — a law
  12. face — part of the head
  13. file — a document
  14. craft — a skill
  15. ball — a great time
  16. last — final
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. file — a tool
  19. ball — a dance
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. craft — boats
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. last — finally
  24. ball — a round shape

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