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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. last — final
  4. ball — a great time
  5. saw — the tool
  6. can — a tin
  7. bore — to tire
  8. can — to be able to
  9. tear — from crying
  10. can — a tin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. tear — to rip
  14. face — to point toward
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. saw — the tool
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ball — a dance
  24. face — to confront

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