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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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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: swing · hand · dip · face · drill · ruler · cold · bay

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. cold — an illness
  5. dip — to sink
  6. swing — music
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. face — to confront
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. cold — not warm
  15. face — to point toward
  16. drill — the tool
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. face — part of the head
  19. swing — to play on
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. swing — in golf
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. drill — army training

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