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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: mark · court · can · face · rush · cold

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. face — to confront
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. court — of law
  9. can — to be able to
  10. mark — a grade
  11. can — a tin
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mark — a trace
  15. court — of a king
  16. rush — hurry
  17. can — a tin
  18. face — to point toward

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