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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. shower — rain
  3. race — humankind
  4. chest — a box
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. race — a contest
  7. face — to confront
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. spell — magic
  10. lean — thin
  11. club — for golf
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — of your body
  14. face — part of the head
  15. spell — a short time
  16. lean — to bend
  17. club — for dancing
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. shower — to wash
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chest — of your body
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ruler — for measuring

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