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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: cold · face · club · board · tube · kick · nail · hide

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. face — to confront
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cold — not warm
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — the underground
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. face — part of the head
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kick — in football
  20. face — to point toward
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — for golf
  24. tube — in a tire

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