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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. face — part of the head
  6. cold — not warm
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. face — to point toward
  10. spring — of water
  11. cold — an illness
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. spring — a coil
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. shower — to wash
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. spring — the season
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. shower — rain
  21. stand — to bear
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. face — to confront

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