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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. row — to paddle
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. track — a song
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. face — part of the head
  9. row — a line
  10. face — to confront
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. foot — a measure
  14. face — to point toward
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. track — a path
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. prune — to trim
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. track — to keep track
  24. pitcher — a jug

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