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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: bowl · bat · face · last · spell · rest · kick · track

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. spell — letters
  3. face — to confront
  4. track — to keep track
  5. face — to point toward
  6. last — to go on
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. track — a path
  11. bat — the animal
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — a song
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. spell — a short time
  23. rest — what's left
  24. kick — in football

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