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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. last — finally
  3. root — of a word
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. last — final
  7. drill — army training
  8. pit — in a race
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. mate — a friend
  11. root — of a plant
  12. face — part of the head
  13. mate — to breed
  14. face — to confront
  15. pit — a hole
  16. root — the cause
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — a grade
  19. face — to point toward
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. drill — a practice
  22. last — to go on
  23. mate — a partner
  24. plane — a tool

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