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

Word bank: straw · race · fall · ground · bear · face · band · object

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. race — the arms race
  6. fall — to drop
  7. object — an aim
  8. race — humankind
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. object — to protest
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. ground — crushed
  14. band — a music group
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bear — the animal
  17. band — a ring
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. fall — the season
  20. face — to point toward
  21. object — a thing
  22. race — a contest
  23. bear — the animal
  24. band — a rubber band

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