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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. club — for golf
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wind — moving air
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. object — an aim
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. object — a thing
  18. face — part of the head
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. object — to protest
  21. face — to confront
  22. club — a group
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — an illness

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