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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. firm — a company
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — letters
  5. face — to confront
  6. firm — steady
  7. march — the month
  8. face — to point toward
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. march — music
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. firm — decided
  13. bore — to drill
  14. march — the month
  15. spell — magic
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rush — hurry

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