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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's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rash — a series
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lean — thin
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. race — the arms race
  8. land — ground
  9. lean — to bend
  10. rash — hasty
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. face — part of the head
  14. race — a contest
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. game — a match
  22. race — humankind
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. present — the time now

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