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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 124 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. face — to confront
  3. net — in sport
  4. bear — the animal
  5. net — after costs
  6. rock — a stone
  7. last — final
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cap — of ice
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bear — the animal
  13. spell — letters
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. cap — a hat
  21. net — for catching
  22. spell — magic
  23. face — to point toward
  24. race — humankind

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