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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: bay · can · march · bat · face · rule · race · stem

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. march — the month
  4. face — to point toward
  5. march — music
  6. bat — the animal
  7. race — humankind
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. can — a tin
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rule — government
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — part of the head
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. stem — to come from
  22. race — a contest
  23. march — the month
  24. race — the arms race

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