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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 124 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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. race — the arms race
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — a weight
  12. race — a contest
  13. face — part of the head
  14. rush — hurry
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. race — humankind
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. rest — a break
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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