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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. race — humankind
  6. face — part of the head
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — a tool
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. cold — not warm
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wound — an injury
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. race — a contest
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. stand — to bear
  21. rash — a series
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cold — an illness

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