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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. pop — soda
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ball — a dance
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — hurry
  7. face — to point toward
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. pop — to visit
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. face — to confront
  17. ball — a great time
  18. mark — a grade
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. race — a contest
  23. face — part of the head
  24. pop — music

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