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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. last — finally
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bore — to tire
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bore — to drill
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. last — final
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. face — to point toward
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. last — to go on

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