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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. drill — a practice
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. capital — money
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cold — an illness
  7. face — part of the head
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rule — a law
  12. hand — in cards
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wound — an injury
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cold — not warm
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wound — an injury
  20. hand — help
  21. capital — a city
  22. drill — army training
  23. rule — government
  24. face — to confront

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