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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: wave · race · wound · bowl · mine · present · prune · face

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. race — humankind
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. race — a contest
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wound — an injury
  10. face — part of the head
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. present — there
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. present — the time now
  23. face — to confront
  24. present — a gift

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