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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 116 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: calf · ball · mine · rule · race · face · row · spring

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. race — the arms race
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a great time
  10. race — a contest
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rule — a law
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. mine — for digging
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. spring — a coil
  19. face — to point toward
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. race — humankind
  24. face — part of the head

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