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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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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: face · pitcher · stick · hide · ruler · cold · hand · land

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. land — ground
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. hand — help
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cold — an illness
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. face — part of the head
  14. land — to come down
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. face — to confront
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. land — a country

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