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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. last — to go on
  3. charge — in control
  4. march — the month
  5. key — for a lock
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. key — in music
  9. face — part of the head
  10. last — finally
  11. field — farmland
  12. face — to point toward
  13. foot — a measure
  14. last — final
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. key — the most important part
  17. charge — a price
  18. field — for sport
  19. sharp — clever
  20. march — music
  21. field — a subject
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. charge — electricity
  24. march — the month

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