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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. face — part of the head
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. race — a contest
  5. present — a gift
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. present — the time now
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. ground — a position
  14. present — there
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spring — of water
  19. march — music
  20. ground — crushed
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ground — the earth
  24. saw — the 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