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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. face — part of the head
  3. band — a ring
  4. last — final
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mark — a trace
  7. face — to confront
  8. land — a country
  9. march — music
  10. land — ground
  11. last — finally
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. band — a music group
  16. craft — boats
  17. mark — a grade
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — the month
  20. ball — a great time
  21. march — the month
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. face — to point toward

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