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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. face — part of the head
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fine — high quality
  8. staff — employees
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. staff — a stick
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kid — child
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. face — to confront
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bear — the animal
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. staff — employees
  20. cell — a phone
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bear — the animal
  23. face — to point toward
  24. temple — a place of worship

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