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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: object · bound · coach · face · pitcher · saw · race · temple

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. face — to confront
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. face — part of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. object — to protest
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. saw — the tool
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. object — an aim
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bound — certain
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. object — a thing
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bound — tied together
  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