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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. face — part of the head
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rule — a law
  7. face — to confront
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rule — government
  10. bear — the animal
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. kid — child
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. kid — to tease
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wake — a trail
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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