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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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 point toward
  3. last — final
  4. track — a song
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. track — a path
  7. net — after costs
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. track — to keep track
  12. face — to confront
  13. last — finally
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cold — an illness
  16. face — part of the head
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cold — not warm
  19. net — for catching
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lean — thin
  22. net — in sport
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. lie — to recline

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