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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. face — to confront
  5. key — for a lock
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — the month
  9. key — the most important part
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. race — humankind
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — soda
  15. march — music
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bat — the animal
  22. key — in music
  23. race — the arms race
  24. leaves — of a tree

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