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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. net — after costs
  3. hand — help
  4. face — part of the head
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. last — to go on
  7. rash — hasty
  8. last — final
  9. kick — in football
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. face — to confront
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. net — in sport
  18. last — finally
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. face — to point toward
  21. net — for catching
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rash — a series

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