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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. last — final
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kid — child
  11. date — the fruit
  12. rule — government
  13. kid — to tease
  14. fall — to drop
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. mug — to rob
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. mug — a cup
  22. fall — the season
  23. rule — a law
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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