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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: perch · race · kid · face · roll · stick · tear · rest

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. kid — to tease
  3. race — the arms race
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. race — humankind
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. tear — from crying
  9. perch — the fish
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rest — what's left
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — to point toward
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. roll — a cake
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — a contest
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. kid — child
  24. roll — a list

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