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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. race — a contest
  3. land — a country
  4. rash — hasty
  5. dip — to sink
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — to come down
  8. rash — a series
  9. game — wild animals
  10. race — humankind
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cap — a hat
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. cap — a lid
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. face — part of the head
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. land — ground
  22. game — a match
  23. cap — of ice
  24. race — the arms race

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