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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. land — ground
  3. face — to confront
  4. bulb — for light
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. row — a line
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. land — a country
  13. last — final
  14. face — to point toward
  15. content — happy
  16. bulb — for light
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. face — part of the head
  23. land — to come down
  24. row — to paddle

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