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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. season — in sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. last — to go on
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. face — part of the head
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. prune — to trim
  16. face — to confront
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rest — what's left
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rest — a break
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. prune — to trim
  24. season — of the year

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