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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. fall — the season
  3. face — to point toward
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. prune — to trim
  6. dip — to sink
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. game — wild animals
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. face — to confront
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bat — the animal
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. fall — to drop
  19. prune — to trim
  20. game — a match
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. snap — to click
  24. dip — a sauce

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