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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 120 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 · coach · face · present · craft · wax · cold · hand

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — not warm
  3. face — to confront
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. face — part of the head
  8. rule — government
  9. wax — to grow
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. present — a gift
  14. hand — help
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. present — there
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. present — the time now
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cold — an illness

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