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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. hand — in cards
  3. face — to point toward
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. prune — to trim
  6. track — to keep track
  7. march — music
  8. race — the arms race
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. track — a song
  11. face — part of the head
  12. march — the month
  13. rest — what's left
  14. prune — to trim
  15. race — humankind
  16. rest — a break
  17. track — a path
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. march — the month
  21. face — to confront
  22. hand — help
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rest — what's left

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