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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. face — to point toward
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. prune — to trim
  5. face — part of the head
  6. last — to go on
  7. sharp — clever
  8. last — finally
  9. fall — to drop
  10. present — there
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. last — final
  13. prune — to trim
  14. present — a gift
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. face — to confront
  18. present — the time now
  19. fall — the season
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bat — the animal
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

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