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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. rash — hasty
  6. race — humankind
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — to go on
  11. face — part of the head
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. face — to point toward
  14. last — final
  15. race — a contest
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. rash — a series
  18. ball — a dance
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. face — to confront
  22. ball — a great time
  23. last — finally
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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