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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. staff — employees
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. staff — employees
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. file — a tool
  9. net — after costs
  10. staff — a stick
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. chest — a box
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. net — for catching
  17. chest — of your body
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. net — in sport
  23. chest — of your body
  24. file — a document

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