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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. season — in sport
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bound — tied together
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — of the year
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chest — a box
  13. race — humankind
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. face — to confront
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chest — of your body
  18. face — part of the head
  19. chest — of your body
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. race — a contest
  24. bound — certain

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