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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. object — an aim
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. race — a contest
  16. plane — a tool
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. kid — child
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. board — to get on
  24. plane — in geometry

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