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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 120 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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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: march · rule · present · cold · face · foot · club · bowl

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. face — part of the head
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. rule — a law
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. march — the month
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — a measure
  9. club — a group
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — music
  12. present — the time now
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. present — a gift
  17. face — to confront
  18. club — for dancing
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rule — government
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. club — for golf
  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