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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: tear · kick · snap · cabinet · race · swing · net · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. swing — in golf
  3. race — humankind
  4. net — in sport
  5. face — to point toward
  6. race — the arms race
  7. tear — to rip
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. net — for catching
  11. tear — from crying
  12. race — a contest
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. swing — music
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. face — part of the head
  18. tear — from crying
  19. net — after costs
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. kick — in football
  22. swing — to play on
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. kick — with a leg

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