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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. snap — to click
  3. race — a contest
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. face — to point toward
  6. chair — a leader
  7. race — humankind
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. track — a path
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. track — a song
  24. face — to confront

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