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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. race — humankind
  4. face — to confront
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chest — a box
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chest — of your body
  9. face — part of the head
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pass — a permit
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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