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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. craft — a skill
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. land — to come down
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. face — to point toward
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. face — to confront
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pitch — completely
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. land — ground
  16. bass — low music
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. saw — the tool
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. land — a country
  21. craft — boats
  22. file — a line of people
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bass — the fish

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