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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. race — a contest
  9. face — to confront
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. game — a match
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. ground — a position
  15. face — to point toward
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. ground — crushed
  19. game — wild animals
  20. season — of the year
  21. ground — the earth
  22. season — in sport
  23. race — humankind
  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