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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. cap — of ice
  5. present — there
  6. drill — the tool
  7. present — a gift
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — a phone
  11. last — finally
  12. present — the time now
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cap — a hat
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. drill — a practice
  21. degree — temperature
  22. drill — army training
  23. cap — a lid
  24. lie — to recline

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