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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: mine · straw · tear · can · face · cold · dip · board

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. tear — from crying
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cold — not warm
  8. dip — to sink
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. face — part of the head
  13. can — to be able to
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a committee
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. face — to confront
  23. mine — for digging
  24. board — a flat piece

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