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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. race — humankind
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. face — to confront
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fine — all right
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. chest — a box
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wind — moving air
  19. face — part of the head
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. rock — music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. chest — of your body

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