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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. face — part of the head
  3. file — a tool
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. last — to go on
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. face — to confront
  11. drill — the tool
  12. last — finally
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bat — the animal
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. last — final
  20. file — a document
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. file — a line of people
  23. drill — army training
  24. rush — a thrill

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