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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: hand · cap · bear · staff · row · drill · face · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. saw — the tool
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cap — a lid
  7. drill — army training
  8. cap — of ice
  9. face — part of the head
  10. staff — a stick
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. face — to confront
  13. staff — employees
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. staff — employees
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. drill — the tool
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cap — a hat
  24. drill — a practice

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