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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · squash · pop · face · chest · race · march · sharp

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. face — to confront
  3. march — music
  4. present — there
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. race — humankind
  7. pop — music
  8. race — a contest
  9. chest — a box
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. face — part of the head
  12. sharp — clever
  13. present — a gift
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chest — of your body
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. march — the month
  18. squash — the sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pop — to visit
  22. present — the time now
  23. face — to point toward
  24. march — the month

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