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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. face — part of the head
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bore — to drill
  5. hand — help
  6. lie — to recline
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. face — to confront
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. face — to point toward
  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