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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: face · cap · race · fine · tube · hand · wind · vault

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. fine — high quality
  3. tube — a container
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. vault — a safe
  10. race — humankind
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — a contest
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. face — part of the head
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. tube — the underground
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fine — all right
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — to point toward
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wind — moving air

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