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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cap — a lid
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. field — for sport
  9. last — to go on
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — a hat
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. cap — of ice
  14. sharp — clever
  15. cue — a signal
  16. face — part of the head
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. wind — moving air
  19. last — finally
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a hint
  22. rush — hurry
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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