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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. lean — to bend
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. roll — a list
  12. season — of the year
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. kick — in football
  15. roll — a cake
  16. face — to confront
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. season — in sport
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. lean — thin
  24. race — humankind

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