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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. stand — to bear
  3. mate — a partner
  4. last — finally
  5. face — to point toward
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. key — in music
  9. object — a thing
  10. mate — to breed
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — for a lock
  13. mate — a friend
  14. object — an aim
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. field — a subject
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. object — to protest
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. face — to confront
  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