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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: cap · wind · sharp · mark · face · bore · race · wake

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bore — to tire
  3. race — a contest
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. race — humankind
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. face — to confront
  12. mark — a trace
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mark — a grade
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. face — part of the head
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wake — before a funeral

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