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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 116 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: board · face · lash · scale · chair · mouse · file · race

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. scale — in music
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. file — a tool
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — humankind
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. file — a document
  16. board — to get on
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. chair — a leader
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. face — part of the head
  22. scale — size or range
  23. face — to confront
  24. mouse — the animal

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