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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. race — a contest
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. face — to confront
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. shower — to wash
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rock — music
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. race — humankind
  14. game — a match
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. shower — rain
  19. row — a line
  20. rock — a stone
  21. face — to point toward
  22. race — the arms race
  23. row — a quarrel
  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