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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ground — the earth
  3. race — the arms race
  4. row — to paddle
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. face — to confront
  8. fall — to drop
  9. shower — rain
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. race — humankind
  14. face — to point toward
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. face — part of the head
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. chip — to eat
  21. row — a line
  22. race — a contest
  23. chip — for betting
  24. fall — the season

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