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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: wake · net · tube · game · cold · object · rash · face

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. face — to point toward
  3. net — after costs
  4. object — a thing
  5. face — to confront
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. net — for catching
  9. object — an aim
  10. rash — hasty
  11. tube — a container
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. face — part of the head
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. net — in sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. object — to protest

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