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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: face · cold · leaves · swing · sharp · wake · current · cabinet

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cold — an illness
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — of water
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. current — electric
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wake — a trail

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