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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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Word bank
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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: row · hide · stand · degree · race · face

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. 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. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — from a university
  3. face — to confront
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. row — to paddle
  8. face — part of the head
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. race — the arms race
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. row — a line
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. race — a contest
  17. face — to point toward
  18. 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