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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 116 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: staff · content · fall · coach · face · current · cold · ruler

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — the amount
  4. fall — the season
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. face — to confront
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. fall — to drop
  16. staff — employees
  17. face — part of the head
  18. staff — a stick
  19. current — happening now
  20. cold — not warm
  21. current — of water
  22. cold — an illness
  23. current — electric
  24. face — to point toward

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