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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. chip — to eat
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. race — a contest
  5. face — to point toward
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wind — moving air
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. land — to come down
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. race — humankind
  16. wind — moving air
  17. land — a country
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. land — ground

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