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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cold — not warm
  3. face — to point toward
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pop — to visit
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hand — help
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pop — soda
  12. face — to confront
  13. rest — a break
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. face — part of the head
  18. rash — a series
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pop — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. rash — hasty

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