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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 120 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 · hand · race · game · stem · fine · pitcher · nail

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. race — humankind
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. hand — help
  13. game — a match
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stem — to come from
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. face — to point toward
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. face — part of the head

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