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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. present — there
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. present — the time now
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — to confront
  10. cold — an illness
  11. content — happy
  12. present — a gift
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. rash — hasty
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. deal — to handle
  21. content — the amount
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rash — a series
  24. content — videos and posts

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