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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. staff — employees
  5. face — to confront
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. drill — army training
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bear — the animal
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bear — the animal
  17. staff — a stick
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — not warm
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. land — a country
  22. cell — in biology
  23. face — part of the head
  24. staff — employees

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