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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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. mug — a cup
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bat — the animal
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. spring — of water
  6. lean — thin
  7. file — a tool
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spring — the season
  10. mug — a face
  11. face — part of the head
  12. mug — to rob
  13. file — a document
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. lean — to bend
  21. spring — a coil
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  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