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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · root · cold · rule · rest · kick

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. face — to confront
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — a law
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cold — not warm
  8. face — part of the head
  9. root — of a word
  10. rest — a break
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. rule — government
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kick — in football

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