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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. hand — help
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. face — to point toward
  16. current — happening now
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wound — an injury
  20. prune — to trim
  21. current — of water
  22. current — electric
  23. face — to confront
  24. hand — in cards

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