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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: lie · ruler · ball · bark · cold · face · spring · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. ball — a great time
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. face — to confront
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bark — to shout
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cold — an illness
  20. spring — the season
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. face — to point toward
  24. ball — a dance

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