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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: straw · scale · face · foot · track · lie · present · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. present — the time now
  3. face — part of the head
  4. present — a gift
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. scale — in music
  8. face — to point toward
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. present — there
  12. foot — a measure
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. face — to confront
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cold — an illness
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. lie — to recline
  23. scale — size or range
  24. track — a path

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