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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: bore · mine · face · stand · cold · scale · pit · bay

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bore — to tire
  4. face — part of the head
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. scale — in music
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to drill
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. face — to confront
  24. mine — an explosive

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