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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: calf · saw · bowl · mine · scale · spell · face · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. face — part of the head
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cold — not warm
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. spell — magic
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. face — to confront
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. saw — the tool
  23. spell — letters
  24. scale — in music

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