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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. face — to confront
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. face — to point toward
  9. race — a contest
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. hand — help
  12. race — the arms race
  13. face — part of the head
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rock — music
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bat — the animal
  21. race — humankind
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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