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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. face — to confront
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. face — part of the head
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pass — a permit
  8. kid — child
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. face — to point toward
  13. race — humankind
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. kid — to tease
  16. race — a contest
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wound — an injury
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pitch — completely
  24. saw — the tool

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