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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wound — an injury
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. mark — a grade
  5. net — for catching
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rash — a series
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. net — in sport
  14. mark — a trace
  15. race — the arms race
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. race — humankind
  18. net — after costs
  19. face — part of the head
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — a contest
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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