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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 116 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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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: last · mug · track · hide · face · spell · game · cold

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. game — wild animals
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. spell — a short time
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. cold — not warm
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. track — a path
  14. spell — letters
  15. face — to point toward
  16. last — finally
  17. track — a song
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a face
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spell — magic
  22. track — to keep track
  23. mug — a cup
  24. last — to go on

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