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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. fine — high quality
  3. spring — a coil
  4. land — to come down
  5. drill — army training
  6. last — to go on
  7. fine — all right
  8. face — to confront
  9. vault — a safe
  10. land — a country
  11. last — finally
  12. drill — a practice
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. face — to point toward
  17. spring — of water
  18. land — ground
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. spring — the season
  21. last — final
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. drill — the tool

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