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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rush — hurry
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. fall — the season
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. race — the arms race
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. march — the month
  12. face — part of the head
  13. fine — all right
  14. race — a contest
  15. march — music
  16. fall — to drop
  17. face — to point toward
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — to come from
  20. fine — high quality
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. race — humankind

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