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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. drill — army training
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. last — finally
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. squash — the sport
  11. face — to point toward
  12. drill — the tool
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. deal — to handle
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. face — part of the head
  17. drill — a practice
  18. squash — to crush
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. last — to go on
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. face — to confront

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