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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. land — ground
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. face — to confront
  9. land — a country
  10. race — humankind
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. pass — a permit
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. race — a contest
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mate — a partner
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. land — to come down
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pitch — completely
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. mate — a friend

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