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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  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. rule — a law
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. face — to confront
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. face — to point toward
  9. mark — a grade
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rule — government
  12. board — a committee
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. rash — a series
  16. mark — a trace
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rash — hasty
  23. board — to get on
  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