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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: face · tube · race · hand · rock · scale · straw · wake

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rock — music
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rock — a stone
  5. race — a contest
  6. face — part of the head
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. scale — in music
  15. tube — a container
  16. face — to confront
  17. hand — help
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. tube — the underground
  22. hand — in cards
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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