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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: dip · last · face · race · squash · present · kid · saw

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — child
  4. face — to point toward
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. face — to confront
  7. squash — to crush
  8. present — there
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. race — the arms race
  11. present — the time now
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. face — part of the head
  14. squash — the sport
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. present — a gift
  18. last — final
  19. dip — to sink
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. last — finally
  22. race — humankind
  23. kid — to tease
  24. race — a contest

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