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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. squash — to crush
  3. face — to point toward
  4. lean — thin
  5. last — final
  6. squash — the sport
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lean — to bend
  10. last — finally
  11. face — part of the head
  12. object — a thing
  13. cold — not warm
  14. object — an aim
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. object — to protest
  18. rest — what's left
  19. face — to confront
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. last — to go on
  23. rest — a break
  24. saw — the tool

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