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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 120 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: kid · net · rush · saw · ruler · spring · face · wound

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. net — for catching
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. face — to confront
  10. net — after costs
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. kid — child
  13. spring — of water
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. net — in sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. spring — the season
  18. face — to point toward
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. kid — to tease
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. saw — the tool

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