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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. 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 — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. last — final
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. file — a tool
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. field — for sport
  17. file — a document
  18. field — a subject
  19. last — to go on
  20. field — farmland
  21. staff — a stick
  22. lie — to recline
  23. last — finally
  24. 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