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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: race · cell · fall · hide · face · row · cold · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. row — a line
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fall — the season
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cell — a phone
  13. face — to confront
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. present — the time now
  18. cold — not warm
  19. face — part of the head
  20. race — humankind
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cell — in biology
  23. present — a gift
  24. hide — animal skin

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