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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. march — the month
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. last — to go on
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. face — part of the head
  14. dip — to sink
  15. game — wild animals
  16. face — to confront
  17. last — finally
  18. march — the month
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. face — to point toward
  21. last — final
  22. march — music
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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