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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. face — to confront
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bass — low music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. scale — in music
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cold — not warm
  23. scale — size or range
  24. hide — animal skin

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