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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. face — to confront
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. object — an aim
  9. craft — a skill
  10. face — to point toward
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. band — a ring
  16. pop — to visit
  17. craft — boats
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — a thing
  20. band — a music group
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — thin
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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