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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mark — a grade
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rush — hurry
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. face — to point toward
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pound — a weight
  12. chair — a leader
  13. face — to confront
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. kick — in football
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chair — to sit on

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