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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 the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rock — a stone
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. race — humankind
  8. face — part of the head
  9. rock — music
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bat — the animal
  12. shower — to wash
  13. race — a contest
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. face — to confront
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. face — to point toward
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. race — the arms race

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