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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: face · ground · ruler · kid · cold · spell · toast · bat

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. kid — to tease
  3. spell — magic
  4. face — part of the head
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. toast — bread
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ground — a position
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. face — to confront
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ground — crushed
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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