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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mine · march · arm · mark · ball · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ball — a great time
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wake — a trail
  17. mine — for digging
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — a trace

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