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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. face — to confront
  6. ball — a great time
  7. shower — to wash
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rash — hasty
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. face — to point toward
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. face — part of the head
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fine — all right
  21. ball — a dance
  22. rash — a series
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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