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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bass — low music
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bass — the fish
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pitch — completely
  9. race — humankind
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. row — a line
  14. face — part of the head
  15. race — a contest
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. current — electric
  19. lean — to bend
  20. face — to point toward
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. squash — to crush
  24. row — a quarrel

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