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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ground — a position
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. race — a contest
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. face — to point toward
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wind — moving air
  10. race — the arms race
  11. ground — crushed
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. face — to confront
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. race — humankind
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. face — part of the head
  23. ground — the earth
  24. plane — a tool

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