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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fine — all right
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. face — to confront
  9. last — finally
  10. tear — from crying
  11. face — part of the head
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. tear — to rip
  15. last — final
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. snap — to click
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. face — to point toward
  24. fork — in a road

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