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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: cold · bound · kick · press · ruler · bass · lash · face

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. bound — certain
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bass — the fish
  8. face — to confront
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. press — to push
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — in football
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bass — low music
  19. press — a publisher
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cold — not warm

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