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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. plane — a tool
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. face — to confront
  6. content — the amount
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. content — happy
  11. fine — all right
  12. last — to go on
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. last — final
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. face — to point toward
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. face — part of the head
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. fine — high quality
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. plane — in geometry

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