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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: dip · face · cue · race · nail · season · land · fall

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. season — in sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. face — to confront
  5. season — of the year
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — for pool
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. face — part of the head
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cue — a signal
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. face — to point toward
  20. race — humankind
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. land — a country

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