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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 · jam · hand · lean · mark · plane · calf

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — a grade
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. face — to point toward
  6. lean — thin
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. face — to confront
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. plane — a tool
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cold — not warm
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. lean — to bend
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cold — an illness
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. jam — a tight spot

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