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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 · tear · face · roll · cell · chip · drill · can

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. chip — to eat
  3. drill — army training
  4. roll — a list
  5. tear — to rip
  6. can — to be able to
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cell — a phone
  9. race — a contest
  10. chip — for betting
  11. can — a tin
  12. tear — from crying
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — the arms race
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. race — humankind
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. can — a tin

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