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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. last — final
  3. face — to confront
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. face — part of the head
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. last — to go on
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. sharp — clever
  15. face — to point toward
  16. last — finally
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. present — there
  20. mark — a grade
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. mark — a trace
  24. straw — a straw man

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