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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: race · rush · face · mug · chip · bat · spell · last

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bat — the animal
  4. race — the arms race
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. rush — hurry
  8. chip — to eat
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. face — to confront
  11. mug — to rob
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to point toward
  14. race — a contest
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. mug — a cup
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. last — final
  21. race — humankind
  22. chip — for betting
  23. spell — magic
  24. bat — for baseball

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