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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. last — finally
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bat — the animal
  7. last — final
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. craft — a skill
  11. stock — shares
  12. race — a contest
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rule — government
  17. face — to point toward
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. last — to go on
  22. craft — boats
  23. rule — a law
  24. stock — goods

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