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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kid — to tease
  4. band — a ring
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. cold — an illness
  7. last — to go on
  8. band — a music group
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kid — child
  11. face — to confront
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. suit — in cards
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. last — final
  17. face — to point toward
  18. suit — to fit
  19. last — finally
  20. cap — a hat
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cap — a lid
  24. suit — clothes

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