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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: rest · wound · rash · straw · bay · current · kid · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rest — a break
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. rash — hasty
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. current — electric
  11. face — to confront
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wound — an injury
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. current — happening now
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. current — of water
  24. rash — a series

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