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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. face — to point toward
  4. last — final
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. rash — hasty
  10. last — finally
  11. mine — for digging
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. face — to confront
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. face — part of the head
  21. scale — size or range
  22. rash — a series
  23. row — a line
  24. rash — on the skin

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