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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. face — to point toward
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. dip — to sink
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. face — part of the head
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. season — of the year
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. face — to confront
  19. race — the arms race
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. season — in sport
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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