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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. game — a match
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. row — to paddle
  6. last — to go on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. fall — the season
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cold — an illness
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. face — to confront
  16. fall — to drop
  17. last — final
  18. face — part of the head
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. fall — to drop
  21. face — to point toward
  22. last — finally
  23. row — a line
  24. nail — for a hammer

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