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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rush — hurry
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. key — the most important part
  6. game — a match
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — to point toward
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. face — part of the head
  19. key — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. race — the arms race
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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