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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 116 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. face — to confront
  3. bass — low music
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — a path
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. race — the arms race
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. kick — in football
  24. track — a song

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