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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. key — in music
  3. tube — a container
  4. key — the most important part
  5. face — part of the head
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. hand — help
  8. key — for a lock
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rush — hurry
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. craft — boats
  20. kick — in football
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. cold — an illness

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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