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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 116 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: rule · pitcher · hide · cold · deal · trunk · face · wound

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rule — a law
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. face — part of the head
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rule — government
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. wound — an injury
  21. deal — to handle
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wound — an injury

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