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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · tear · face · roll · cell · chip

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. face — part of the head
  3. race — a contest
  4. roll — a list
  5. cell — a phone
  6. race — humankind
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — to confront
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cell — in biology
  18. chip — to eat

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