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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. season — of the year
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. face — to point toward
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. season — in sport
  12. ball — a great time
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. band — a ring
  17. roll — a cake
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. roll — a list
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. face — to confront

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