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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. race — a contest
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. board — to get on
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. race — the arms race
  10. face — to point toward
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rash — a series
  14. prune — to trim
  15. board — a committee
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. clip — a video
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. race — humankind
  20. face — part of the head
  21. clip — to cut
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. clip — for paper

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