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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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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: band · kick · face · mark · cold · straw · fall · firm

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. band — a music group
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mark — a grade
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. firm — steady
  9. cold — an illness
  10. firm — decided
  11. face — part of the head
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mark — a trace
  16. face — to confront
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. face — to point toward
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. firm — a company
  21. fall — the season
  22. band — a ring
  23. kick — in football
  24. mark — to pay attention

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