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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: mate · fine · object · pound · face · march · content · race

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. race — humankind
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. face — to point toward
  5. march — the month
  6. pound — a weight
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. object — an aim
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. content — the amount
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. content — happy
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. face — to confront
  17. fine — high quality
  18. march — music
  19. race — a contest
  20. mate — a partner
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. march — the month

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