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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: dip · cold · rash · firm · race · snap · face · bear

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rash — hasty
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. firm — steady
  6. firm — decided
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cold — not warm
  11. firm — a company
  12. race — the arms race
  13. dip — to sink
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. face — to confront
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bear — the animal
  18. snap — to click
  19. bear — the animal
  20. race — a contest
  21. rash — a series
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. face — to point toward

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