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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. face — to confront
  3. perch — the fish
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. face — part of the head
  7. race — a contest
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chest — of your body
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. chest — a box
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. season — in sport
  17. face — to point toward
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rash — hasty
  23. chest — of your body
  24. season — of the year

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