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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lean — to bend
  4. race — humankind
  5. face — to confront
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. race — a contest
  12. lean — thin
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. face — to point toward
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pit — a hole
  18. race — the arms race
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wake — a trail
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. face — part of the head

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