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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. last — final
  5. face — to confront
  6. lie — to recline
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. face — part of the head
  10. present — a gift
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. last — to go on
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. last — finally
  22. face — to point toward
  23. present — there
  24. present — the time now

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