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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: march · racket · content · race · wound · mouse · face · key

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. key — in music
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. content — happy
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. race — a contest
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. wound — an injury
  15. face — to point toward
  16. key — for a lock
  17. march — the month
  18. wound — an injury
  19. race — humankind
  20. content — the amount
  21. key — the most important part
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. face — part of the head
  24. march — music

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