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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: cold · face · saw · fall · stick · club · lash · current

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. face — to point toward
  3. fall — the season
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. fall — to drop
  6. face — to confront
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cold — an illness
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. current — electric
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. saw — the tool
  17. club — for golf
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. club — a group
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. face — part of the head
  23. current — of water
  24. current — happening now

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