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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: content · ruler · rush · calf · cold · face · fall · net

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. net — in sport
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. net — for catching
  9. content — happy
  10. rush — hurry
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cold — an illness
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. fall — to drop
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. fall — the season
  21. net — after costs
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. face — part of the head
  24. ruler — a monarch

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