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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 120 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. race — a contest
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. face — to point toward
  6. track — to keep track
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. ground — a position
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. race — the arms race
  12. spell — letters
  13. race — humankind
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. track — a path
  16. dip — to sink
  17. track — a song
  18. snap — to click
  19. ground — the earth
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spell — a short time
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ground — crushed
  24. spell — magic

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