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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. face — to confront
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. present — the time now
  8. current — happening now
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — an illness
  15. current — electric
  16. face — to point toward
  17. current — of water
  18. kid — child
  19. present — there
  20. face — part of the head
  21. track — a path
  22. present — a gift
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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