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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. face — to confront
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. last — final
  5. drill — army training
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. fine — high quality
  9. row — a line
  10. court — of law
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. row — to paddle
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. court — for sport
  16. fine — all right
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — the animal
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wind — moving air

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