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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. face — to point toward
  3. last — to go on
  4. face — part of the head
  5. sharp — clever
  6. last — finally
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. face — to confront
  10. stock — shares
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stock — goods
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. last — final
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. row — a line
  18. stand — to bear
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. row — to paddle

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