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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. shower — rain
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bulb — for light
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cold — an illness
  8. race — humankind
  9. cold — not warm
  10. race — a contest
  11. plane — a tool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. shower — to wash
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bulb — for light
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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