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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — tied together
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bound — certain
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. land — a country
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. face — to confront
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. face — part of the head
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — to grow
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. mark — a grade

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