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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: face · rock · game · saw · net · race · cap · object

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cap — of ice
  5. object — an aim
  6. face — to confront
  7. object — a thing
  8. net — for catching
  9. saw — the tool
  10. net — after costs
  11. face — part of the head
  12. race — humankind
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. rock — music
  15. cap — a hat
  16. game — wild animals
  17. race — the arms race
  18. saw — the tool
  19. race — a contest
  20. game — a match
  21. rock — a stone
  22. net — in sport
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. cap — a lid

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