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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. row — a line
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cold — an illness
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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