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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. last — to go on
  4. spring — of water
  5. net — in sport
  6. bound — tied together
  7. last — final
  8. spring — a coil
  9. last — finally
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. face — to point toward
  12. snap — to click
  13. net — for catching
  14. rash — hasty
  15. net — after costs
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bound — obliged
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. face — to confront
  20. spring — the season
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bound — certain
  24. dip — to sink

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