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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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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. mug — to rob
  4. rock — music
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. face — to point toward
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. capital — a city
  11. staff — employees
  12. wake — a trail
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. capital — money
  16. staff — employees
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. mug — a cup
  21. face — to confront
  22. kick — in football
  23. staff — a stick
  24. rock — a stone

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