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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: bass · cold · pound · lean · race · plane · face · swing

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. race — a contest
  3. bass — low music
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bass — the fish
  6. swing — in golf
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. pound — a weight
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — thin
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — to point toward
  13. swing — music
  14. lean — to bend
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. race — the arms race
  17. plane — a tool
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. race — humankind

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