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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. club — for golf
  3. sharp — clever
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — part of the head
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tube — the underground
  8. last — finally
  9. club — a group
  10. last — final
  11. tube — a container
  12. last — to go on
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. toast — bread
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. club — for dancing
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. face — to point toward
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. sharp — with an edge

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