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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — to get on
  3. face — to point toward
  4. chest — of your body
  5. face — part of the head
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. chest — of your body
  10. last — final
  11. face — to confront
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. last — to go on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. race — a contest
  17. wound — an injury
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. dip — to sink
  20. chest — a box
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. last — finally
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. race — humankind

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