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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. chest — a box
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bat — the animal
  12. chest — of your body
  13. face — to point toward
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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