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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. fall — the season
  3. cold — not warm
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. face — to point toward
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fall — to drop
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bore — to tire
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bat — the animal
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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