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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. face — part of the head
  7. fall — the season
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. face — to point toward
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. face — to confront
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a dance
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. prune — to trim
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. ball — a great time
  21. fall — to drop
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — not warm

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