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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: present · bay · fork · roll · cold · face · bound · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bound — tied together
  7. present — a gift
  8. face — to confront
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — there
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. roll — a list
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a cake

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