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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mark — a trace
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. mark — a grade
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. object — an aim
  16. face — part of the head
  17. object — to protest
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. land — ground
  20. object — a thing
  21. land — to come down
  22. fork — in a road
  23. land — a country
  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