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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. file — a document
  3. face — to point toward
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a dance
  6. lean — thin
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. drill — the tool
  15. spell — a short time
  16. face — part of the head
  17. spell — magic
  18. file — a line of people
  19. drill — army training
  20. lean — to bend
  21. ball — a great time
  22. drill — a practice
  23. spell — letters
  24. file — a tool

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