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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 120 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. last — finally
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. clip — for paper
  7. deal — to handle
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — part of the head
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. clip — to cut
  12. race — humankind
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. last — final
  15. plane — a tool
  16. current — of water
  17. current — happening now
  18. clip — a video
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. last — to go on
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. face — to point toward
  23. race — the arms race
  24. current — electric

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