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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: lie · wound · pass · face · rest · cold · straw · cap

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. face — to confront
  3. cap — a hat
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. face — to point toward
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. rest — what's left
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rest — what's left
  14. lie — to recline
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pass — a permit
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cold — an illness
  20. face — part of the head
  21. cap — a lid
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rest — a break
  24. cold — the Cold War

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