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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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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: ground · face · drill · craft · rest · dip · cold · kick

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. craft — a skill
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rest — a break
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cold — not warm
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ground — a position
  12. rest — what's left
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. face — to confront
  16. drill — army training
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. face — to point toward
  20. ground — the earth
  21. dip — to sink
  22. kick — in football
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a handicraft

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