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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. file — a document
  4. face — part of the head
  5. file — a tool
  6. capital — money
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. face — to point toward
  10. file — a line of people
  11. ground — the earth
  12. face — to confront
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ground — crushed
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. race — the arms race
  18. capital — a city
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. race — humankind
  22. ground — a position
  23. wake — a trail
  24. race — a contest

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