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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: face · race · wound · file · pit · bass · dip · fine

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wound — an injury
  3. face — to confront
  4. race — the arms race
  5. pit — a hole
  6. fine — all right
  7. bass — low music
  8. file — a tool
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. race — humankind
  11. pit — in a race
  12. race — a contest
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fine — high quality
  15. file — a line of people
  16. dip — to sink
  17. file — a document
  18. wound — an injury
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. face — to point toward
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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