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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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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. wake — a trail
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. face — to point toward
  11. last — to go on
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rush — hurry
  18. last — final
  19. face — to confront
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. mate — a partner
  22. face — part of the head
  23. last — finally
  24. rush — to hurry

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