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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  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. court — for sport
  2. face — to point toward
  3. race — a contest
  4. lie — to recline
  5. net — after costs
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. race — humankind
  8. net — for catching
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bear — the animal
  11. face — to confront
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rush — hurry
  15. net — in sport
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — of the sea
  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