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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. face — part of the head
  8. drill — the tool
  9. face — to point toward
  10. last — to go on
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. last — finally
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. face — to confront
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bat — the animal
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. march — the month
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. perch — the fish
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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