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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rule — a law
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rest — what's left
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cold — an illness
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rule — government
  17. face — to confront
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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