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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 116 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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cell — in biology
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. band — a music group
  9. cold — not warm
  10. face — to confront
  11. deal — to handle
  12. mug — to rob
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. mug — a cup
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. face — to point toward
  21. mug — a face
  22. band — a ring
  23. cold — an illness
  24. deal — a big deal

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