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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. face — to confront
  3. last — finally
  4. net — for catching
  5. tear — to rip
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. last — to go on
  11. pop — soda
  12. net — after costs
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. face — part of the head
  16. tear — from crying
  17. last — final
  18. pop — music
  19. tube — the underground
  20. pop — to visit
  21. net — in sport
  22. face — to point toward
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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