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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. mug — to rob
  3. last — to go on
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. last — final
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — to confront
  17. wound — an injury
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mug — a face
  22. wound — an injury
  23. last — finally
  24. scale — for weighing

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