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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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. pop — music
  4. pop — soda
  5. saw — the tool
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pop — to visit
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bore — to tire
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. race — humankind
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. face — part of the head
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. race — a contest
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to drill
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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