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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: mouse · kick · cold · mate · craft · content · bass · face

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. face — to point toward
  3. craft — a skill
  4. face — to confront
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. content — happy
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. craft — boats
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. content — the amount
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. kick — in football
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. bass — the fish
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. face — part of the head
  24. kick — with a leg

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