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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — low music
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. face — to confront
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cold — an illness
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mate — a partner
  13. ground — the earth
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. face — to point toward
  16. mate — a friend
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. snap — to click
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. ground — a position
  24. mate — to breed

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