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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cell — in biology
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. face — to confront
  6. row — to paddle
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. race — a contest
  12. season — of the year
  13. row — a line
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. cell — a phone
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. race — humankind
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. race — the arms race
  24. season — in sport

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