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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: mark · bass · spring · bore · spell · face · cold · net

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — to point toward
  4. spring — the season
  5. bass — low music
  6. net — in sport
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mark — a trace
  10. net — after costs
  11. spell — magic
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — to drill
  15. net — for catching
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. mark — a grade
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bass — the fish
  23. spring — of water
  24. spell — letters

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