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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rash — hasty
  3. face — to confront
  4. land — to come down
  5. cap — a hat
  6. march — music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cap — a lid
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. land — ground
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. land — a country
  13. march — the month
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. face — to point toward
  17. march — the month
  18. face — part of the head
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bulb — for light
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bulb — for light
  24. rash — a series

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