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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  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 — to point toward
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. face — to confront
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. kid — child
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. march — the month
  14. vault — a safe
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. march — music
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. foot — a measure
  20. march — the month
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. face — part of the head
  23. foot — part of the body
  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