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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: tube · can · bass · race · face · cold · staff · land

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. face — to confront
  3. staff — employees
  4. bass — low music
  5. race — humankind
  6. face — to point toward
  7. race — a contest
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. land — ground
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cold — an illness
  13. land — a country
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. race — the arms race
  16. land — to come down
  17. tube — a container
  18. can — a tin
  19. staff — employees
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bass — the fish
  22. staff — a stick
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. tube — the underground

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