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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — finally
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spell — letters
  10. mine — for digging
  11. face — part of the head
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. last — final
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spell — magic
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pound — a weight

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