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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: face · stick · bat · race · kid · cap · ruler · fan

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. face — to point toward
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cap — a hat
  5. face — to confront
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. race — humankind
  8. cap — of ice
  9. race — the arms race
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bat — the animal
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. kid — child
  21. race — a contest
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. ruler — a monarch

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