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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: cold · face · rest · last · bowl · ball · current · perch

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. last — to go on
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ball — a great time
  5. perch — the fish
  6. last — finally
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. current — of water
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rest — what's left
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. rest — a break
  17. current — happening now
  18. cold — an illness
  19. face — to point toward
  20. ball — a dance
  21. last — final
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. current — electric

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