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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. face — to point toward
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a skill
  11. degree — from a university
  12. race — humankind
  13. face — to confront
  14. degree — temperature
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. face — part of the head
  19. file — a document
  20. degree — an amount
  21. race — a contest
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. race — the arms race

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