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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.

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: face · cold · sharp · wake · bulb · cell · pass · ground

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. ground — a position
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cell — a phone
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pass — a permit
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. face — to confront
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wake — a trail
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. wake — before a funeral

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