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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cell — a phone
  4. land — a country
  5. rash — hasty
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. club — for dancing
  11. face — to point toward
  12. last — finally
  13. pit — in a race
  14. face — part of the head
  15. club — a group
  16. last — to go on
  17. club — for golf
  18. hand — help
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. face — to confront
  21. pit — a hole
  22. land — ground
  23. rash — a series
  24. cell — in biology

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