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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. face — to confront
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. net — for catching
  7. face — part of the head
  8. rule — a law
  9. face — to point toward
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rest — what's left
  12. firm — steady
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rest — a break
  15. firm — decided
  16. cap — a hat
  17. file — a tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cap — a lid
  20. rule — government
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. file — a document
  24. firm — a company

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