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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. face — to point toward
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. track — to keep track
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. track — a song
  9. track — a path
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rash — a series
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. rule — government
  20. cold — not warm
  21. foot — a measure
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cold — the Cold War

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