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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. last — finally
  4. staff — employees
  5. last — to go on
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — final
  12. cold — not warm
  13. squash — the sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cold — an illness
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. squash — to crush
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. face — to point toward
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. prune — to trim

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