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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. spring — of water
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. suit — to fit
  7. staff — a stick
  8. tear — from crying
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — in cards
  11. cold — an illness
  12. spring — a coil
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pound — a weight
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — not warm
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. pound — for dogs

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