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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.

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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cold — not warm
  3. face — to confront
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mug — a face
  6. net — in sport
  7. drill — army training
  8. net — after costs
  9. spell — magic
  10. mug — a cup
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mug — to rob
  13. face — to point toward
  14. net — for catching
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spell — letters

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