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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ball — a great time
  4. hand — help
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — to breed
  7. face — to confront
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. file — a document
  11. face — to point toward
  12. hand — in cards
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail

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