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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: toast · nail · ruler · cold · wake · face · hand · ground

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. ground — a position
  3. face — to confront
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. hand — help
  6. wake — a trail
  7. face — part of the head
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. hand — in cards
  18. ground — crushed
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. face — to point toward
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. toast — bread
  24. ground — the earth

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