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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. spring — of water
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. face — to confront
  5. spring — a coil
  6. land — to come down
  7. wind — moving air
  8. spring — the season
  9. current — of water
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wind — moving air
  14. current — happening now
  15. file — a document
  16. current — electric
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — ground
  19. bulb — for light
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. land — a country
  24. racket — for tennis

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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