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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: cold · staff · face · rush · hand · ball · sharp · content

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rush — hurry
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. face — to point toward
  7. ball — a dance
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. content — happy
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. sharp — clever
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cold — not warm
  16. hand — help
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. staff — employees
  19. face — part of the head
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. face — to confront
  22. cold — an illness
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. content — the amount

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