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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. face — to confront
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ground — crushed
  5. last — finally
  6. roll — a cake
  7. wound — an injury
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. game — a match
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. roll — a list
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. last — to go on

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