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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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Word bank
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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: race · swing · net · game · snap · chip · face · leaves

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. face — to point toward
  4. net — after costs
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. race — the arms race
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. game — a match
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chip — for betting
  12. face — to confront
  13. chip — to eat
  14. face — part of the head
  15. snap — to click
  16. net — in sport
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. net — for catching
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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