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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wake — a trail
  3. last — finally
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. game — wild animals
  7. face — to point toward
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fall — the season
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. hand — help
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. hand — in cards
  15. face — part of the head
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. last — to go on
  22. game — a match
  23. face — to confront
  24. saw — the tool

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