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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. last — to go on
  7. face — to confront
  8. rest — a break
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fine — all right
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. face — part of the head
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. chest — a box
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fine — high quality
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chest — of your body

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