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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cap — of ice
  3. race — a contest
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. cap — a lid
  6. tube — the underground
  7. face — to confront
  8. field — for sport
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. face — to point toward
  11. march — the month
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. march — music
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cap — a hat
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. date — the fruit
  24. march — the month

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