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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 works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. face — part of the head
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. band — a music group
  5. cold — an illness
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. face — to confront
  9. spring — the season
  10. perch — the fish
  11. firm — decided
  12. firm — steady
  13. face — to point toward
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — not warm
  16. band — a ring
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — a measure
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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