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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. face — to confront
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. face — part of the head
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — decided
  8. wind — moving air
  9. net — after costs
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. net — in sport
  12. cold — an illness
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. firm — a company
  17. face — to point toward
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. current — of water
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wind — moving air

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