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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hand — help
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — high quality
  6. club — for dancing
  7. face — part of the head
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. club — for golf
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. face — to point toward
  18. race — humankind
  19. fine — all right
  20. club — a group
  21. wax — to grow
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. straw — a straw man

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