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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. face — part of the head
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. face — to confront
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fall — to drop
  8. date — the fruit
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. fall — to drop
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bat — the animal
  15. face — to point toward
  16. fall — the season
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. present — there
  24. coach — a trainer

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