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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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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: rest · face · season · shower · nail · last · staff · wound

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. season — in sport
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. staff — a stick
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rest — what's left
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. last — finally
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. staff — employees
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — final
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rest — a break
  18. shower — rain
  19. season — of the year
  20. last — to go on
  21. face — to point toward
  22. staff — employees
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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