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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. shower — rain
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wound — an injury
  5. face — part of the head
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stand — to bear
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. face — to confront
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wound — an injury
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. track — to keep track
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. track — a path
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chair — a leader

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