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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. lean — to bend
  4. face — to confront
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. lean — thin
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. last — to go on
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. branch — a division
  12. season — of the year
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. season — in sport
  18. last — finally
  19. face — part of the head
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. last — final
  22. face — to point toward
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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