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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 124 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. tear — from crying
  3. deal — to handle
  4. face — to confront
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. file — a line of people
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. face — to point toward
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. present — a gift
  13. game — a match
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. present — there
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. present — the time now
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mine — for digging
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. tear — to rip
  24. game — wild animals

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