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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mark · dip · sharp · face · season · last

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. last — to go on
  4. face — to point toward
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. mark — a grade
  7. face — part of the head
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. last — final
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. last — finally
  12. season — in sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. season — of the year
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mark — a trace
  18. season — to add flavour

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