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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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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: face · lie · race · saw · deal · chair · hand · squash

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. face — part of the head
  4. saw — the tool
  5. hand — help
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — to handle
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. saw — the tool
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. race — humankind
  12. hand — in cards
  13. squash — to crush
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. race — the arms race
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. lie — to recline
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. chair — a leader
  22. squash — the sport
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. lie — an untruth

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