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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. spell — magic
  3. kid — to tease
  4. face — to confront
  5. spell — a short time
  6. face — to point toward
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. spell — letters
  10. kid — child
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. board — a committee
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. board — to get on
  18. file — a line of people

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