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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. race — humankind
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — a contest
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. wound — an injury
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. march — the month
  14. race — the arms race
  15. march — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. saw — the tool
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. face — to point toward
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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