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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. last — to go on
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. face — to confront
  5. last — final
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rest — what's left
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. capital — a city
  13. content — the amount
  14. mate — to breed
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rest — a break
  17. mate — a partner
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. last — finally
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. rest — what's left
  24. content — happy

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