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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. land — ground
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — wild animals
  6. face — to confront
  7. land — to come down
  8. face — to point toward
  9. present — there
  10. can — to be able to
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. face — part of the head
  13. present — the time now
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wind — moving air
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. game — a match
  18. present — a gift
  19. last — to go on
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. land — a country

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