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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rule — government
  3. clip — for paper
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fine — all right
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bulb — for light
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rule — a law
  16. file — a document
  17. face — part of the head
  18. fine — high quality
  19. file — a tool
  20. clip — a video
  21. row — a line
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. mate — a partner
  24. clip — to cut

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