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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. face — to confront
  3. last — final
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. last — finally
  9. face — to point toward
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chip — to eat
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. vault — a safe
  19. hand — help
  20. face — part of the head
  21. hand — in cards
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. staff — a stick

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