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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: race · track · last · trunk · face · game · patient · bay

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. race — a contest
  3. face — to confront
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. race — humankind
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. track — to keep track
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. face — part of the head
  12. track — a path
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. track — a song
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. game — wild animals
  18. last — finally
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. game — a match

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