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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. last — finally
  4. face — to confront
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. sharp — clever
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. last — to go on
  17. foot — a measure
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wake — a trail
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. face — part of the head

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