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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 120 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: race · scale · pop · temple · face · fall · chair · kid

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pop — to visit
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. chair — a leader
  5. fall — the season
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pop — soda
  8. race — humankind
  9. kid — to tease
  10. scale — in music
  11. race — a contest
  12. kid — child
  13. fall — to drop
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pop — music
  18. fall — to drop
  19. face — to confront
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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