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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 120 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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. staff — employees
  3. bound — tied together
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hand — help
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to confront
  10. lean — thin
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chest — a box
  13. ground — a position
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bound — obliged
  18. lean — to bend
  19. chest — of your body
  20. face — to point toward
  21. staff — employees
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bound — certain
  24. lean — to rest against

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