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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 120 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cold — not warm
  6. face — to confront
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. deal — to handle
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — for catching
  19. wound — an injury
  20. net — in sport
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cold — an illness

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