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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. net — after costs
  7. face — to point toward
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. net — for catching
  10. club — for golf
  11. net — in sport
  12. club — for dancing
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rock — a stone
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cap — a hat
  17. rock — music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fork — in a road
  20. club — a group
  21. cap — of ice
  22. face — to confront
  23. chest — a box
  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