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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. land — to come down
  11. row — to paddle
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. land — ground
  14. last — final
  15. bat — the animal
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. row — a line
  18. face — part of the head
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. land — a country
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. safe — a strongbox

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