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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bank — of a river
  3. race — humankind
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. object — an aim
  6. rock — a stone
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. clip — for paper
  10. face — part of the head
  11. clip — to cut
  12. object — to protest
  13. object — a thing
  14. clip — a video
  15. rock — music
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — for money
  22. rule — government
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rule — a law

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