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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. face — to confront
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. hand — in cards
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. row — to paddle
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cold — not warm
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hand — help
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. pitcher — a jug

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