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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. lean — to bend
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. last — finally
  7. stand — to bear
  8. kick — in football
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lean — thin
  11. face — to confront
  12. mate — a friend
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. face — part of the head
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pop — to visit
  18. face — to point toward
  19. mate — to breed
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mate — a partner
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. lean — to rest against

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