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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rash — a series
  3. hand — help
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. hand — in cards
  10. face — to point toward
  11. plane — a tool
  12. land — a country
  13. last — to go on
  14. season — of the year
  15. face — to confront
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. last — final
  19. land — to come down
  20. rash — hasty
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. season — in sport
  23. face — part of the head
  24. land — ground

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