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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: tube · coach · fine · cold · content · roll · lie · face

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. face — to point toward
  3. roll — a cake
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. lie — to recline
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — the underground
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. face — to confront
  11. content — happy
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — all right
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. face — part of the head
  17. roll — a list
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cold — not warm
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cold — an illness
  24. content — the amount

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